Viracta Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: VIRX), a precision oncology company targeting virus-associated malignancies, today announced the closing of its merger with Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (previously trading on Nasdaq under “SNSS”). The combined, publicly traded company will focus on the advancement and expansion of Viracta’s clinical stage pipeline, including Viracta’s lead program for the treatment of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-positive lymphoma. Shares of the combined company, which is operating under the name Viracta Therapeutics, Inc., will commence trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “VIRX” on February 25, 2021.
Immediately prior to the closing of the merger, Viracta also closed the previously announced $65 million private placement of its common stock. The private placement was comprised of a premier investor syndicate of biotechnology-focused and institutional accredited investors led by BVF Partners L.P. with participation from aMoon, Ridgeback Capital Management, Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company), Logos Capital, Samsara Biocapital, Sectoral Asset Management, Janus Henderson Investors, LifeSci Venture Partners and Serrado Capital LLC, as well as other institutional investors.
Effective as of the merger close, Viracta has over $120 million in cash and cash equivalents with an expected runway into 2024.
“The closing of this merger is transformative for Viracta, and I am extremely proud of the accomplishments of our team to get us to this moment. We believe we are strongly positioned to execute on our operating plans as a well-capitalized publicly traded company with a focused corporate strategy,” said Ivor Royston, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Viracta. “This year we are poised to advance our novel all-oral combination therapy into a global registrational trial in EBV-positive lymphoma, and further expand into EBV-positive solid tumors, and we look forward to driving value to patients and shareholders in the years ahead. We greatly appreciate the support of our new and existing shareholders as we work to achieve these goals, which represent critical steps on the path towards addressing the unmet needs of patients suffering from these virus-associated malignancies.”
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Viracta’s lead program evaluates the all-oral combination of nanatinostat, its proprietary investigational drug, and valganciclovir in a Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of EBV-positive relapsed/refractory (R/R) lymphoma. There are currently no approved therapies for EBV-associated cancers, which are responsible for over 140,000 deaths each year. Viracta’s precision oncology combination therapy targets EBV-positive cancer cells with an inducible synthetic lethality approach. Viracta plans to initiate a registration trial for the treatment of EBV-positive lymphoma in the first half of 2021, and a Phase 1b/2 trial in EBV-positive solid tumors in 2021.
On February 24, 2021, and in connection with the closing of the merger, Sunesis effected a 1-for-3.5 reverse stock split. All issued and outstanding shares of common stock of Sunesis were subject to the reverse stock split. Upon completion of the merger, taking into consideration the reverse stock split and the exchange ratio, Viracta has approximately 37.0 million shares of common stock outstanding, with pre-merger Viracta shareholders collectively owning approximately 86.05% of the combined company and pre-merger Sunesis shareholders collectively owning approximately 13.95% of the combined company.
SVB Leerink LLC and Evercore Group LLC served as placement agents in Viracta’s private placement. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati served as legal counsel to Viracta. MTS Health Partners, L.P. served as the financial advisor to Sunesis, and Cooley LLP served as legal counsel to Sunesis.
Source: Biospace
