P+P advises investors on sale of Rigontec to MSD
The US-based company MSD (brand name of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA (NYSE: MRK)) acquired German biotech company Rigontec GmbH. Through a subsidiary, MSD has made an upfront payment of EUR 115 million in cash to the shareholders of Rigontec. Further payments of up to EUR 349 million will be due upon attainment of certain clinical, development, regulatory and commercial milestones.
Rigontec specializes in the use of the RIG-I (retinoic acid-inducible gene I) coupled innate immune system pathway for a novel approach to cancer immunotherapy that promises immediate and long-term anti-tumor immunity. Rigontec's lead drug candidate, RGT 100, is currently in the clinical development phase to investigate the treatment of patients with multiple cancers.
Rigontec was founded in 2014 as a spin-out of the University of Bonn and raised capital of around EUR 30 million from well-known life science investors, including Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, Forbion Capital Partners, High-Tech Gründerfonds, MP Healthcare Venture Management, NRW. BANK, Sunstone Capital and Wellington Partners Life Sciences.
As a biopharmaceutical company, MSD develops drugs, biologicals and vaccines and markets its products in more than 140 countries. With its research on the prevention and treatment of diseases, including cancer, cardiometabolic disorders, emerging epizootic diseases, Alzheimer's and infectious diseases such as HIV and Ebola, MSD is one of the industry's pioneers.
P+P Pöllath + Partners advised the former investors on the sale of their investments with the following team:
- Dr. Michael Inhester (partner, M&A/venture capital, Munich)
- Adalbert Makos (senior associate, M&A/venture capital, Munich)
- Andreas Kühnert (associate, M&A/venture capital, Munich)
