(RTTNews) - Synlogic, Inc. (SYBX), a biotechnology company, on Wednesday entered into a definitive merger agreement with Caldera Therapeutics, Inc. in an all-stock transaction to combine their businesses.

The private placement is expected to close concurrently with the merger.

Under the agreement, both companies will become wholly owned subsidiaries of a newly formed holding company.

Following the closing, the combined company will operate as Caldera Therapeutics and intends to list on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the ticker symbol "CALD."

In connection with the merger, Caldera secured commitments for an upsized concurrent private placement expected to generate approximately $278 million in gross proceeds from a syndicate of healthcare institutional investors and mutual funds.

The proceeds are expected to fund the Phase 2 clinical development of CLD-423, a potential first-in-class TL1A x IL-23p19 bispecific antibody for ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, support development in additional immune-mediated diseases, and finance the combined company's operations into 2029.

On Wednesday, Synlogic closed trading 0.56% higher at $0.7150 on the OTC market.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.