Pardes Biosciences (PRDS) to Be Acquired by MediPacific for $2.02-$2.19 Per Share

Pardes Biosciences (NASDAQ:PRDS), which combined with FS Development Corp. II in December 2021, announced that it has agreed to be acquired by MediPacific for $2.02 to $2.19 per share for a premium of 8%-17% over its last closing price.

A tender offer for the company will launch on July 28 to acquire all outstanding Pardes shares within this price range. A MediPacific subsidiary will also receive a contingent value right (CVR) promising it 80% of net proceeds from any license of Pardes assets over the first five years following close.

Pardes’ main drug candidate Pomotrelvir is designed to inhibit the reproduction of coronavirus cells. It demonstrated potential effectiveness in Phase I trials against recent COVID-19 variant Omicron as well as the MERS and SARS variants discovered earlier.

But, its initial readouts from Phase II trials dropped in April and it did not meet its primary endpoint in producing better outcomes than a placebo.

Patients were otherwise healthy, vaccinated adults that had been infected with COVID-19 and although patients in both groups had dropping viral loads and improved health, the data indicated it was likely the vaccine rather than Pomotrelvir doing most of the work.

Pardes stock was in a slump even before these results, however. Having hit a post-close high of $16.88 in January 2022, it has traded below $5 since June 2022, despite being well-funded with just 1.2% redemptions from FS II’s $200 million trust.

But, as the world moved on from COVID, the market appears to have moved on from potential breakthroughs in treating it as well. Having hit an initial dead end with Pomotrelvir’s Phase II, the company announced it would suspend its development and seek out strategic alternatives.

From this standpoint, Pardes may be considered fortunate that it will still be effectively valued at about $130 million in this take-private.