Peloton Therapeutics, a Phase 2 biotech developing small-molecule HIF-2a inhibitors for kidney cancer, announced on Tuesday that it would be acquired by Merck for $1.05 billion, plus up to $1.15 billion in milestone payments. It had filed to raise $150 million at a fully-diluted post-IPO market cap of $742 million.
Primary shareholders included The Column Group, Remeditex Ventures, Topspin Partners, RA Capital Management, The Regents of the University of California and Nextech Invest.
The Dallas, TX-based company was founded in 2010 and had planned to list on the Nasdaq under the symbol PLTX. J.P. Morgan, Citi and Jefferies were set to be the joint bookrunners on the deal.
