Nile Therapeutics will merge with Capricor to become new company focused on heart disease

USA-based Nile Therapeutics (OTCQB: NLTX) has today (July 8) announced a merger with privately-held Californian biotechnology company Capricor to become a combined company called Capricor Therapeutics, in an all stock transaction.

The merger will take the form of a stock-for-stock reverse merger intended to qualify as a tax-free reorganization. Under the terms of the deal, Nile will issue to Capricor stockholders shares of Nile common stock so that Capricor stockholders will own around 90% of the combined company's outstanding shares, and Nile stockholders about 10%. Options of Capricor will be assumed by Nile and become options to acquire stock of Nile. The closing is subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including Nile and Capricor stockholder approval.

Capricor's lead product candidate is CAP-1002, a proprietary allogeneic adult stem cell therapy for the treatment of heart damage. The product is derived from donor heart tissue. Capricor, which develops cardiac stem cell (CDC) therapeutics to repair damaged heart muscle, will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nile Therapeutics. The merger will create a publicly traded company focused on the development of novel treatments to prevent and treat heart disease, as well as having a core expertise in regenerative medicine.