Invex to buy Rekover in all-scrip deal, raises US$6.47M for MS trial
What's the deal? Invex TherapeuticsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → (ASX: IXC) has agreed to acquire New Zealand biotech Rekover TherapeuticsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → in an all-scrip deal, alongside a US$6.47M raise to fund a Phase 2a multiple sclerosis trial. No cash changes hands: Invex will issue 45 million shares and up to 91.25 million performance rights to Rekover's shareholders and noteholders.
The target and the asset: Rekover, founded in 2020, is repurposing nalfurafine — an anti-itch drug approved in Japan and Korea for dialysis patients — to treat demyelinating diseases. It holds licences to patents covering that use, in-licensed from Victoria University of Wellington.
Why now? The deal gives Invex a second neurology program to sit alongside its existing exenatide work. The acquired asset is REVIVE, a randomised, placebo-controlled Phase 2a study of nalfurafine in patients with relapsing remitting MS and chronic optic neuropathy, planned for sites in Australia and New Zealand.
How is it structured? The 91.25 million performance rights vest in three tranches tied to clinical milestones, from an interim read that avoids a futility call, through meeting primary endpoints, to a US FDA investigational new drug application taking effect.
Who's funding it? The US$6.47M raise splits into a US$582.4K preliminary placement and a US$5.89M conditional placement at US$0.05 per share. TenmileDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, an associate of TattarangDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, will subscribe for US$2.91M, lifting the Tattarang group's voting power from 10.24% to 32.39% — enough to require shareholder approval under the Corporations Act.
What could go wrong? The deal buys a clinical opportunity, not proven efficacy: nalfurafine's MS case remains largely preclinical, and REVIVE is its first real test in patients. Completion needs shareholder approval, with a general meeting expected in late November or early December.
The signal: This is early-stage pipeline expansion rather than a cash buyout, trading equity and dilution for a shot at a new neurology asset. Larger MS deals by major drugmakers involve more advanced assets, so they are not direct valuation comparables for Invex's bet.
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