Connecticut-based Rallybio Corporation (Nasdaq: RLYB) has agreed to acquire private San Diego-based Avenzo Therapeutics, Inc. in a reverse merger that will give the combined company a four-program oncology pipeline spanning selective CDK inhibitors and bispecific antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), paired with a concurrent USD 215 million oversubscribed private placement. The transaction, announced June 1, 2026, will see the combined entity operate under the Avenzo name and trade on Nasdaq under the ticker AVZO, with Avenzo's leadership retaining operational control.
The Avenzo transaction revives a strategy that Rallybio had pursued earlier this year with autoimmune disease-focused Candid Therapeutics. In March 2026, Rallybio agreed to a reverse-merger deal with Candid backed by a USD 505 million private placement that would similarly have transformed the company into a Nasdaq-listed vehicle for a venture-backed private biotech. However, before the deal could close, Candid agreed to be acquired by UCB for up to USD 2.2 billion, terminating the merger and triggering a USD 50 million breakup fee payable to Rallybio.
The transaction will effectively transform Avenzo into a publicly traded company, with existing Rallybio shareholders retaining a 2.8% stake in the combined business. Rallybio plans to distribute most of its cash to current shareholders before the merger closes, while Avenzo will receive USD 215 million in new financing from a syndicate of healthcare-focused investors to advance its pipeline through multiple clinical milestones. The deal is expected to close in Q4 2026.
Avenzo's pipeline centers on two mechanistically distinct modalities. Its selective CDK portfolio comprises AVZO-021, a CDK2 inhibitor, and AVZO-023, a CDK4 inhibitor — both designed to address resistance and tolerability limitations associated with approved CDK4/6 inhibitors in hormone receptor-positive (HR+)/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HER2-) breast cancer. Both molecules are Phase I stage, with Phase I/II data from the ORION-1 study, evaluating AVZO-023 in combination with endocrine therapy with or without AVZO-021, expected in late 2026.