BridgeBio Pharma to Acquire Remaining Shares of Eidos Therapeutics Amid IPO Filing

On August 13, 2019, VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned from foreign media reports that biopharmaceutical company BridgeBio Pharma announced it would acquire the remaining outstanding shares of Eidos Therapeutics. As the parent company of Eidos Therapeutics, BridgeBio Pharma currently holds 66.6% of its shares, and the remaining shares will be acquired through this transaction.

Under the terms of the proposal, which is subject to certain conditions, BridgeBio Pharma will acquire the remaining shares of Eidos Therapeutics in a stock-for-stock transaction at an exchange ratio of 1.3:1. In response to this proposal, Eidos Therapeutics announced that its Board of Directors has established a special committee, composed of independent directors Rajeev Shah and William Lis, to review the proposal. The special committee has engaged Centerview Partners LLC as its independent financial advisor and Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP as its independent legal counsel to assist in its review of the proposal.

The Board of Directors of Eidos Therapeutics noted that it had only recently received the proposal and had not made any decision regarding the Company’s response to the proposed transaction. The Special Committee intends to carefully consider the proposal with the assistance of its external financial and legal advisors, and there can be no assurance that any definitive agreement will be executed. Eidos Therapeutics will not disclose information related to the Committee’s consideration of the proposal until such time as disclosure of transaction information is required.

Eidos Therapeutics, founded in 2013 and headquartered in California, USA, is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company led by industry veterans. The company focuses on addressing transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis (ATTR), a rare disease with unmet medical needs, by stabilizing TTR to treat this condition.

Recently, Eidos Therapeutics has filed an application with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to raise $115 million through an initial public offering (IPO).

In April 2018, Eidos Therapeutics completed a $64 million Series B financing round. The round was led by RA Capital Management, with participation from Eidos’s parent company, BridgeBio Pharma, and several new investors. Eidos stated that the proceeds would be used to advance its small-molecule candidate, AG10, into Phase 2 clinical trials and to prepare for Phase 3 studies.

AG10, an orally administered small molecule developed by Eidos, is designed to effectively and selectively stabilize the TTR tetramer, thereby halting the cascade of molecular events that lead to ATTR amyloidosis at its source. Built on more than 25 years of research, Eidos’s approach mimics a naturally occurring genetic rescue mutation that stabilizes the TTR tetramer, protecting individuals at high risk from developing ATTR amyloidosis.

BridgeBio Pharma, founded in 2015 and headquartered in California, USA, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies for genetic diseases. The company employs more than 50 top scientists in the biotechnology field and boasts a world-class R&D team. This team utilizes gene-targeted therapies with the aim of addressing genetic diseases at their root cause. Currently, the team has 15 projects in development.

BridgeBio Pharma has invested in multiple subsidiaries, each dedicated to researching genetic diseases within a specific therapeutic area, including dermatology, oncology, endocrinology, neurology, and cardiology. This decentralized, efficient structure enables BridgeBio Pharma to concentrate its efforts on specific domains, thereby conducting more in-depth and thorough research into genetic diseases.

(Compiled by Cheng Tao)