Cardiovascular pharmaceutical company Medera will go public in the US through a reverse merger, with a valuation exceeding $600 million.

Cardiovascular disease treatment drug development company Medera Inc. has reached an agreement with Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) Keen Vision Acquisition Corp. (KVAC.US) to go public through a merger on the Nasdaq. According to the two companies, this transaction values Medera at $6.226 billion. Prior to shareholder redemptions, the total cash proceeds from this deal amount to approximately $1.495 billion from the SPAC's trust account. The transaction has received unanimous approval from the boards of both companies and is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter. Ronald Li, founder and CEO of Medera, stated that the company decided to go public through a SPAC rather than an initial public offering (IPO) because SPAC provided the fastest route to access the capital markets. Li said in an interview, "We both had a choice. It is very important to us that we develop our clinical assets to serve the large population." Through its Sardocor and Novoheart divisions, Medera focuses on incorporating bioengineered human tissue technology and employing a range of next-generation gene and cell-based approaches to eradicate difficult-to-treat cardiovascular diseases. Li mentioned that the company's "miniature human heart" technology allows them to test therapies using laboratory-manufactured human heart tissue, which is more accurate and less controversial than animal experiments. He stated that Medera has three gene-based therapies in clinical trials. Medera has collaborated with Astrazeneca PLC Sponsored ADR (AZN.US), the National Heart Centre Singapore, and other institutions to develop this technology. Kenneth KC Wong, Chairman and CEO of Keen Vision Acquisition, expressed that before deciding that Medera could be a good target, he explored other opportunities. Wong said, "Medera's positioning is very unique because it not only has a clinical aspect but also a technology platform." Last year, Keen Vision raised approximately $1.5 billion through its IPO, including the over-allotment of shares. Data shows that SPAC IPOs in the U.S. have only raised $34 billion in 2023 since reaching a peak of over $162 billion in 2021, marking the lowest level since 2014. SPAC merger deals also peaked in 2021 and have declined to about $60 billion this year. SPAC financing has seen a modest rebound, with IPO sizes reaching $50 billion since January 1st.