After launching a hunt for strategic alternatives in January following a phase 3 rare disease flop, Quince Therapeutics has landed on an exit strategy. The Bay Area biotech has announced a merger with a private pulmonary startup called Orphai Therapeutics.
The deal is an all-stock transaction similar to a reverse merger, with the combined company to maintain Quince’s Nasdaq listing, according to a May 18 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Quince stockholders will own 6.9% of the merged biotech, while the rest will be held by Orphai’s existing shareholders and a new crop of investors.
Quince began seeking salvation after its lead candidate for ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T), a rare pediatric neurodegenerative disorder, failed to meet the primary and secondary endpoints of the phase 3 Neat trial. Quince’s approach was to engineer patients’ red blood cells to deliver a steady stream of therapeutic steroids and then reinfuse them.
At the time of that January failure, Quince only had enough cash to last through the second quarter of this year.
That fail followed an earlier phase 3 stumble in a wider age range of children. Data from this earlier trial hinted that focusing on 6-to-9-year-olds could be fruitful, which prompted Quince to launch Neat.
A-T, also known as Louis-Bar syndrome, is a rare genetic disease that affects the nervous system and the immune system. Caused by mutations in the ATM gene, the disease begins in early childhood with the first signs being unsteady movements and poor coordination, known as ataxia.
Orphai’s lead asset is a version of rapamycin, LAM-001, in midstage development for high blood pressure in the lungs associated with interstitial lung disease, among other pulmonary indications.
As part of the merger, Orphai’s CEO, Brigette Roberts, M.D., has joined Quince as chief of corporate affairs and will also serve on the biotech’s board. Roberts initially joined Orphai as chief medical officer in February 2021 before quickly ascending to the CEO seat.