EQRx Goes Public in $1.8 Billion Deal, Plans to Lower Drug Costs
Pharmaceutical startup company and NEC member EQRx has gone public by raising $1.8 billion through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). The deal will advance EQRx’s “New Pharma” platform which aims to drastically lower drug prices.
EQRx will merge with CM Life Sciences III, a SPAC affiliated with Casdin Capital and Corvex Management, which will boost the pharmaceutical company’s value to $3.65. billion. This deal comes less than two years after the company was founded. In its future vision, EQRx plans to create medicines for known disease targets and license programs from other health-related companies in order to decrease the overall cost of development and increase the odds of gaining regulatory approval. Similarly, it plans to better understand the needs of the market by partnering with various health systems and insurers.
EQRx President, COO and future CEO Melanie Nallicheri is optimistic of the company’s future. “We are moving rapidly toward the potential commercialization of our lead oncology programs while continuing to group our pipeline to address the high-cost disease areas of today and in the future,” Nallicheri said.
The New England Council celebrates EQRx’s expansion and vision to make important medicines more affordable.
Read more in the Boston Globe.