Rocket Pharma and Inotek plan reverse merge

Troubled US biopharma company Inotek Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ITEK) and USA-based gene therapy start-up Rocket Pharmaceuticals have entered into a definitive merger agreement, with the announcement sending Inotek’s shares as high as $1.30 though they fell back to $0.89 in after-hours trading.

The news comes after Inotek’s shares were decimated following a second conclusive failure of its lead glaucoma drug trabodenoson for the treatment of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) or ocular hypertension (OHT).

Subject to shareholder approval, the combined company will retain the name Rocket Pharmaceuticals and will be headquartered in New York City. The combined company will focus on developing and advancing its pipeline of gene therapies based on lentiviral virus (LVV) and adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene therapy platforms, with a focus on treating devastating rare diseases.