RTW Bio's Avere To Merge With NextCure

(RTTNews) - RTW Biotech Opportunities Ltd. (RTW.L) on Wednesday announced that its private portfolio company Avere Therapeutics agreed to merge with NextCure Inc. (NXTC) in an all-stock transaction.

The transaction is expected to close by year-end.

The combined company will operate as Avere Therapeutics and trade on Nasdaq under the ticker AVRX.

Avere is also raising a total of $820 million through two private placements, including a previously announced $320 million placement and a new $500 million placement.

The company will participate in both offerings, with its total investment expected to be $5.9 million.

The proceeds from the placements are expected to fund Avere's lead asset, AVR-001, through a Phase 2b readout in psoriasis, the initiation of a Phase 3 psoriasis trial and a Phase 2b trial in ulcerative colitis.

The transaction marks the company's fourth reverse merger of 2026, following Yarrow Bioscience, Obsidian Therapeutics and Serapha Bio.

Avere represented 0.3% of RTW Bio's NAV as of June 30, following the first $320 million private placement.

On Tuesday, RTW Biotech Opportunities closed trading 2.39% higher at $2.5700 on the London Stock Exchange. On Tuesday, NextCure Inc. closed trading 1.61% lesser at $6.73 on the Nasdaq.