Rallybio to acquire Avenzo Therapeutics in combined merger and $215 million financing deal

Rallybio (NASDAQ:RLYB) and Avenzo Therapeutics announced Monday that they have entered into a definitive agreement to combine through a merger transaction.

Upon completion of the structural merger, the combined company will operate under the name Avenzo Therapeutics, and its shares are expected to trade on the Nasdaq stock market under the new ticker symbol "AVZO".

In tandem with the merger, Avenzo has secured subscription agreements for a concurrent, oversubscribed private placement financing generating $215 million in gross proceeds.

The private placement attracted capital from several new institutional backers, including Blackstone Multi-Asset Investing, accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Investment Management, Vivo Capital, Affinity Asset Advisors, ADAR1 Capital Management, alongside a leading mutual fund and a leading life sciences fund.

Existing Avenzo investors also participated in the round, including OrbiMed, SR One, Foresite Capital, Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company), Longwood Fund, New Enterprise Associates, Deep Track Capital, Sands Capital, Lilly Asia Ventures, and Sofinnova Investments.

The cash balance available to the combined company at closing is projected to fund its clinical operations into late 2028.

This expanded financial runway is designated to support the advancement of four distinct clinical-stage oncology programs through several impending development milestones.

Key near-term objectives include presenting updated Phase 1 data across the pipeline, generating initial clinical data for the combination of candidates AVZO-023 and AVZO-021 with fulvestrant, and initiating multiple Phase 2 clinical studies across the asset portfolio.

The transaction has received the unanimous approval of the boards of directors of both companies and is currently expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026.