Entasis Therapeutics Holdings Inc.’s (NASDAQ: ETTX) Board of Directors has received an interim, non-binding proposal from Innoviva Inc., its majority shareholder, to purchase all outstanding shares of Entasis that Innoviva doesn’t own currently in cash consideration of $1.8 per share.
Entasis is considering other alternatives to the acquisition
Innoviva delivered the offer letter to the Board of Directors, and it is publicly accessible in the Schedule 13D amendment of February 1, 2022, that Innoviva filed with the SEC.
The Entasis Board of Directors has retained Covington & Burling LLP and MTS Health Partners LP to look at alternatives and help the board assess the proposal as per its fiduciary duties. Interestingly the Board doesn’t include any individuals affiliated with or appointed by Innoviva.
It is important to note that Entasis is a clinical-phase biopharmaceutical firm dedicated to the research, development, and marketing of innovative antibacterial drugs for multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacterial infections treatment. Zoliflodacin (for Neisseria gonorrhoeae infections), SUL-DUR (for Acinetobacter baumannii infections), ETX0462 (for Gram-negative infections including Pseudomonas), and ETX0282CPDP (for Enterobacterales infections) are among the product candidates developed through Entasis’ pathogen-targeted design platform.
Entasis reported promising results from the SUL-DUR study
In the third quarter results release, the company revealed that SUL-DUR had attained all primary and secondary endpoints in the pivotal Phase 4 ATTACK study. The robust results report creates a compelling case for the products, which, once approved, will become the first distinctively differentiated and life-saving therapy alternative for the treatment of Acinetobacter infections.
Entasis is preparing for commercialization of SUL-DUR ahead of the NDA submission in mid-this year, headed by Anna Diaz Triola, the newly appointed Chief commercial officer. A seminal publication in the Nature journal highlighted the company’s pathogen-directed platform and new product candidate ETX0462.
CEO of Entasis, Manos Perros, commented, “The past few weeks have been an exciting period for Entasis, with announcement of topline data from the landmark Phase 3 ATTACK trial in patients with Acinetobacter infections, where SUL-DUR achieved all primary and secondary endpoints.”
