The Latest SPAC News and Rumors: May 16, 2022
Below is a daily summary of links to the latest SPAC news and rumors gathered across the web.
Latest SPAC News: Big law bullish on SPACs, DWAC and Trump Media eye second half deal close, and Alvotech announces positive results from pharmacokinetic study
Big Law Is Bullish on SPACs Even as Large Banks Pull Out
Proposed US rules causing banks to sour on SPACs are having the opposite effect on Big Law firms that see an uptick in inquiries about special purpose acquisition companies.
Lawyers are advising SPACs, investors, and target companies on what the rules will mean for deals being negotiated now and those that could occur down the line.
“In the past few weeks the work has increased,” said Josh DuClos, co-head of the SPACs group at Sidley Austin. “We’re having conversations with investors, banks, sponsors, about what these rules will mean.”
Attorneys are optimistic the vehicles will survive the rules that will now be debated after the SEC opened a month-long comment period last week. While SPACs won’t likely to return to the headiest days of the craze that drove record profits to their firms, they expect robust activity for years to come.
READTrump’s SPAC Deal Leaves Door Open for His Return to Twitter
The merger deal bringing Donald Trump’s media venture public carries a range of risks for its investors, including permission for the former president to resume tweeting about politics on rival social media platforms he has denounced like Twitter Inc.
Trump, who will be chairman of the combined company that will bear his name, is free to post on other sites about “political messaging, political fundraising or get-out-the-vote efforts,” according to a filing from Digital World Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ:DWAC). The firm is a publicly traded special-purpose acquisition company that’s buying Trump Media & Technology Group.
READAlvotech Announces Positive Results from a Pharmacokinetic Similarity Study for AVT04, a Proposed Biosimilar to Stelara
Alvotech Holdings S.A. (“Alvotech”), a global biotech company focused solely on the development and manufacture of biosimilar medicines for patients worldwide, today announced positive top-line results from a pharmacokinetic (PK) study for AVT04, Alvotech’s proposed biosimilar to Stelara® (ustekinumab).
On December 7, 2021, Alvotech and Oaktree Acquisition Corp. II (NYSE: OACB), a special purpose acquisition company sponsored by an affiliate of Oaktree Capital Management, L.P., announced they had entered into a definitive business combination agreement.
READBenuvia and the Owner of FDA Approved SYNDROS, Receives Approval from the US DEA to Manufacture Psychedelic Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients Including Psilocybin, MDMA, and DMT
Benuvia, Inc., a drug developer and manufacturer of APIs focused on cannabinoids, with a growing portfolio of drug products and intellectual property, that has previously announced the signing of a definitive agreement with Pono Capital Corp (Nasdaq: PONOU), announced today that it has added to its expanding psychedelic manufacturing capabilities by adding a new set of Schedule I controlled substances to its U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Bulk Manufacturing registration under the U.S. Controlled Substance Act (CSA).
With this approval, Benuvia has begun focusing on four primary psychedelic ingredients: Psilocybin, N,N-Dimethyl-5-Methoxy-Tryptamine (5-MeO DMT), Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), and 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine, or MDMA.
READBlade Therapeutics Presents Data from Phase 1 and Preclinical Studies of Cudetaxestat at the American Thoracic Society 2022 International Conference
Blade Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing cutting-edge treatments for debilitating fibrotic and neurodegenerative diseases, today announced encouraging data from phase 1 and preclinical DDI studies of cudetaxestat, an investigational non-competitive autotaxin inhibitor in clinical development for IPF and other fibrotic diseases. These data were featured in poster presentations at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) 2022 International Conference, taking place May 13-18, 2022, at the Moscone Center, in San Francisco.
On November 8, 2021, Biotech Acquisition Company (NASDAQ: BIOT), a special purpose acquisition company affiliated with SPRIM Global Investments, and Blade announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement. Upon the closing of the transaction, the combined company will be renamed Blade Biotherapeutics, Inc., and is expected to be listed on Nasdaq under the symbol “BBTX.”
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