Cerevel Therapeutics Enters into $445 Million Deal with Arya Sciences

Cerevel Therapeutics, a Pfizer spinoff company dedicated to treating neuroscience diseases, and Arya Sciences Acquisition Corp II (Arya II), a special purpose acquisition company, announced on July 30, 2020 that they are entering into a business combination agreement for $445 million.

Under the terms of the agreement, the company will be renamed Cerevel Therapeutics Holdings and will continue to work under the Cerevel Therapeutics management team, led by chairperson and CEO Tony Coles, a Cerevel press release said. The transaction is expected to be completed during the fourth quarter of 2020.

Cerevel plans to use the funding to support several of its R&D programs and further develop its ongoing clinical and pipeline programs, according to the press release.

“Cerevel is using novel approaches in its quest to bring new treatments to patients living with neuroscience diseases, and today we are bringing that same spirit of innovation to our plans for becoming a public company,” said Coles in the press release. “Since our founding as a joint collaboration between Bain Capital and Pfizer, Cerevel has pushed the boundaries to tackle some of the most vexing questions in neuroscience, using science to target the specific receptor sub-types involved in causing these devastating diseases. Over the next twelve months, we expect to have initiated at least six clinical programs across multiple indications, including schizophrenia, anxiety, epilepsy, and Parkinson’s disease. Today’s announcement ensures that we have access to the capital we will need to advance our clinical programs through to several key milestones in our quest to bring these therapies to patients.”

“Cerevel has the potential to be a science and data-driven premier neuroscience company, making it precisely the type of opportunity that Arya II was designed to combine with,” said Adam Stone, chief investment officer of Perceptive Advisors and CEO of Arya II, in the press release. “Our goal when we formed Arya II was to identify a company that had a differentiated approach to developing medicines, was ready to be public and was led by a highly experienced management team. This is exactly what we saw in Cerevel. We are excited about the potential their medicines represent – to both patients and investors.”

Source: Cerevel