InMed and Mentari to Merge in All-Stock Deal Worth $290M

InMed Pharmaceuticals has entered into a definitive all‑stock merger agreement with privately held Mentari Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company developing migraine prevention therapies. The transaction will combine Mentari’s migraine pipeline with InMed’s public market infrastructure, with the merged company operating as Mentari Therapeutics and listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market under a new ticker symbol. The companies said the merger is intended to accelerate development of new preventive treatments for migraine, a neurological disorder that affects more than 1 billion people worldwide.

Alongside the merger, Mentari has arranged an oversubscribed private placement expected to provide approximately US$290 million in gross proceeds to the combined company. The investor syndicate is led by Fairmount and includes Commodore Capital, Deep Track Capital, Janus Henderson Investors, a16z Bio + Health, Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners, Wellington Management, TCGX, Blackstone Multi‑Asset Investing, BB Biotech, Farallon Capital, RTW Investments, Vivo Capital, Perceptive Advisors and other investment firms. The financing is expected to fund operations through 2028, beyond anticipated key clinical readouts from Mentari’s lead programs.

Mentari’s parallel lead candidates are MT‑001, an anti‑PACAP (pituitary adenylate cyclase‑activating polypeptide) monoclonal antibody, and MT‑002, an anti‑CGRP (calcitonin gene‑related peptide) and anti‑PACAP bispecific antibody. Phase 2a proof‑of‑concept data for MT‑001 are expected in 2028, and Phase 1 healthy volunteer data for MT‑002 are expected in 2027. The programs target validated, complementary and orthogonal pathways in migraine biology and are intended to address unmet need in chronic and episodic migraine, where an estimated 40–50% of patients receiving approved therapies do not achieve a 50% reduction in monthly migraine days and fewer than one‑third reach a 75% reduction.

“This merger with Mentari represents an excellent opportunity for InMed shareholders to participate in the development of an exciting new drug pipeline with significant therapeutic and commercial potential,” said Eric A. Adams, president and CEO of InMed. He said InMed’s board and management fully support the transaction and that Mentari’s balance sheet positions the combined company to execute on development plans for its parallel lead migraine programs, which he believes could expand and reshape the migraine treatment and prevention market.

Julie Bruno, chair of Mentari’s board, said the transaction provides capital and public market access to compete in what the company views as the next era of migraine prevention. She noted that recent anti‑PACAP studies have supported this mechanism and increased interest among headache specialists, and said MT‑001 and MT‑002 were designed for subcutaneous delivery and dual‑pathway inhibition. Bruno described Mentari’s regulatory path and development timelines as aligned with approved migraine therapies and said the company aims to bring new options to people who continue to experience migraine despite current treatments.

Mentari’s programs were discovered by Paragon Therapeutics, Inc., and the MT‑001 and MT‑002 co‑lead assets have shown equal or superior in vitro potency versus benchmark antibodies, according to the companies. Non‑human primate pharmacokinetic data are projected to support convenient subcutaneous dosing in humans.

 

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