On September 6, 2022, Equillium, Inc. and Metacrine Inc. announced that the two companies have entered into a definitive merger agreement pursuant to which Equillium will acquire Metacrine in an all-stock transaction. The transaction is anticipated to add $33 million in cash to Equillium’s balance sheet at closing, which is expected to extend the company’s cash runway into 2024. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati is advising Metacrine on the transaction.

Through the acquisition, Equillium adds Metacrine’s farnesoid X receptor (FXR) platform, including lead molecule MET642, an orally delivered FXR agonist that is a potential first-in-class, non-immunosuppressive treatment for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease. The acquisition is anticipated to close late 2022 pending approval from both Equillium and Metacrine shareholders, Metacrine having minimum net cash of $23 million, and other customary closing conditions.

The Wilson Sonsini team advising Metacrine on the transaction includes:

Mergers & Acquisitions
Rob Ishii
Catherine Riley Tzipori
Molly Manning
Dennise Martinez
Austin Wolfe

Technology Transactions
Miranda Biven
Tony Nguyen
Jordin Wilcher
Magnus Gan
Sarah Siedlak

Patents and Innovations
Michael Hostetler
Val Zunic
Brett Zirkle
Jim Malecha

Tax
Derek Wallace

Employee Benefits and Compensation
Matt Norgard

Capital Markets
Megan Baier
Carole Rosenberg
Norman Zhang

For more information, please see Metacrine’s press release.