On September 21, 2023 Abpro Corporation ("Abpro"), a biotechnology company with the mission of improving the lives of those facing severe and life-threatening diseases with next-generation antibody therapies, and Atlantic Coastal Acquisition Corp. II (NASDAQ: ACAB), a special purpose acquisition corporation ("Atlantic Costal"), reported a term sheet to enter into a definitive business combination, which was entered into on September 18, 2023 (Press release, Abpro Therapeutics, SEP 21, 2023, View Source [SID1234639032]). The transaction is expected to close in Q2 of 2024 and would result in an implied equity valuation for Abpro of $725 million.
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"This is a milestone for Abpro, and we look forward to working with Atlantic Coastal and its team," said Ian Chan, CEO and co-founder of Abpro. "The proceeds we expect to raise in connection with this transaction will help accelerate the advancement of our pipeline toward clinical trials and provide the foundation for ongoing development of novel immunotherapies to help patients."
Abpro is currently in the developmental phase of its next-generation antibody therapies, focusing on HER2+ cancer treatments, including breast, gastric and colorectal cancers, in addition to treatments for Wet AMD/DME and COVID-19. These antibodies are developed using Abpro’s proprietary DiversImmune platform. Last year, Abpro partnered with Celltrion, which is a leading South Korean pharmaceutical company, in an exclusive collaboration to further advance ABP 102, a t-cell engager, which is being developed for the treatment of HER2+ breast, gastric and pancreatic cancer. In connection with that transaction, Abpro received an equity investment from Celltrion and is eligible for potential milestones up to $1.75 billion.
"We believe that Abpro has great potential to improve the lives of those suffering from life altering diseases with its immunotherapies," said Shahraab Ahmad, CEO of Atlantic Coastal. "I look forward to working closely with Ian Chan and the entire team at Abpro to advance their antibody treatments."
Brookline Capital Markets, a Division of Arcadia Securities, LLC, acted as a financial advisor to Abpro Corporation.