Metacrine and Equillium Agree to End Merger Agreement

(RTTNews) – Metacrine, Inc. (MTCR) and Equillium, Inc. (EQ) have announced the mutual termination of the definitive merger agreement.

Shares of Metacrine rise 5.40% to $0.4551 in after-hours trading following the exit from the Equillium deal. Equillium stock closed Friday’s session at $0.89, down 6.30%.

Equillium first announced it was acquiring Metacrine in an all-stock transaction in early 2022, in an effort to add a cash trail in a very challenging funding market.

“However, our recent strategic partnership with Ono Pharmaceutical should extend our cash trail into 2025, and possibly beyond with the potential exercise of options and milestone payments,” said Bruce Steel, CEO of ‘Equillium.

Metacrine said it continues to evaluate all strategic opportunities.

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