WATERTOWN, Mass., Dec. 29, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Disc Medicine, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of novel treatments for patients suffering from serious hematologic diseases, announced today that its previously-announced merger with Gemini Therapeutics, Inc. closed on December 29, 2022, following the approval of Gemini shareholders. The combined company, focused on advancing Disc’s pipeline of hematology programs, will operate under the name Disc Medicine, Inc. and its shares will commence trading on a 1-10 reverse split adjusted basis effective with the open of business on December 30, 2022 on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker symbol IRON.
Concurrent with the closing of the merger, Disc completed a financing of $53.5 million from a syndicate of healthcare investors led by Access Biotechnology and including OrbiMed, Atlas Venture, 5AM Ventures, Novo Holdings A/S, Arix Bioscience, Rock Springs Capital, and Janus Henderson Investors. The projected cash and cash equivalents as of the close of the business combination are expected to be approximately $175 million, providing operating runway into 2025.
“The completion of this merger and concurrent financing marks a transformative moment in Disc’s growth and ensures we are well-positioned to advance our portfolio of innovative, potentially first-in-class therapeutic candidates through key development milestones,” said John Quisel, J.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer and President of Disc. “We’re excited to enter the new year with multiple programs already in the clinic, a robust development pipeline and the financial strength from this merger. We look forward to maintaining this momentum and reporting on interim data read-outs from several patient studies in 2023.”
The combined company will be led by John Quisel, J.D., Ph.D., the current CEO and president of Disc, and other members of the Disc management team. Disc will focus on advancing its development pipeline of investigational product candidates for hematologic diseases, including:
- The ongoing phase 2 BEACON and AURORA clinical trials of bitopertin, an investigational, orally administered inhibitor of glycine transporter 1 (GlyT1) that modulates heme biosynthesis, in patients with erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP)
- The ongoing phase 1b/2 clinical trial of DISC-0974, a monoclonal antibody designed to suppress hepcidin by inhibiting the hemojuvelin (HJV) co-receptor, in myelofibrosis patients with anemia
- A planned phase 1b/2 clinical trial of DISC-0974 in patients with anemia of chronic kidney disease (CKD) who are non-dialysis dependent
- Preclinical studies of bitopertin and DISC-0974 to additional indications of interest and advancing several preclinical-stage programs in development designed to address hematologic diseases
As part of the closing of the merger, Gemini effected a 1 for 10 reverse split of its common stock. Following the reverse stock split and closing of the merger, there will be approximately 17 million shares of the combined company’s common stock outstanding with prior Disc shareholders owning approximately 74% and prior Gemini shareholders owning 26%. The Board of Directors of the combined company will be composed of nine members, including eight Disc board members and one board member from Gemini.
SVB Securities served as the exclusive financial advisor to Gemini and Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP served as Gemini’s legal counsel. Morgan Stanley served as the lead financial advisor to Disc along with Wedbush PacGrow, and Goodwin Procter LLP served as Disc’s legal counsel.
About Disc
Disc Medicine is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to discovering, developing, and commercializing novel treatments for patients who suffer from serious hematologic diseases. We are building a portfolio of innovative, first-in-class therapeutic candidates that aim to address a wide spectrum of hematologic diseases by targeting fundamental biological pathways of red blood cell biology, specifically heme biosynthesis and iron homeostasis. For more information, please visit www.discmedicine.com.
