MerLion merges with two companies, raises $25M
In a pair of stock deals, MerLion (Singapore) merged with infectious disease companies Athelas (Geneva, Switzerland) and Combinature (Berlin, Germany). The European companies will become subsidiaries of MerLion, and Combinature CEO Harald Labischinski will become CSO and a director of MerLion.
The merger combines MerLion's natural products sample collection and screening and medicinal chemistry capabilities with Athelas' anti-infectives DiVi discovery technology and Combinature's preclinical infectious candidates and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) screening technology. Combinature's friulimicin lipopeptide antibiotic is in preclinical testing for complicated skin and soft tissue infections (cSSTIs) and community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in the hospital setting. Combinature also has a broad-spectrum oral antibiotic in preclinical testing. Both compounds are expected to enter the clinic by early next year. ...