Alcobra and Arcturus Therapeutics agree to merge

Israeli pharma firm Alcobra (Nasdaq: ADHD) and privately-held USA-based Arcturus Therapeutics have signed a definitive agreement to merge the two companies in an all-stock transaction.

The transaction will result in a combined company focused on developing novel RNA medicines in therapeutic areas including infectious disease, cystic fibrosis, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and rare liver diseases.

Arcturus has developed proprietary technology platforms incorporating Unlocked Nucleomonomer Agent (UNA) Oligomer chemistry and lipid-mediated nanoparticle (LUNAR) nucleic acid delivery systems. The UNA Oligomer platform incorporates improvements to the chemical structure of RNA to generate pharmaceutical and therapeutic benefits. The LUNAR delivery system is optimized for high RNA encapsulation efficiency, which improves manufacturing and cost-of-goods and enables particle size control to potentially improve the targeting of clinically important cells and tissues, including liver hepatocytes, liver stellate cells, myocytes and lung cells.