DURHAM – Aerami Therapeutics Holdings, Inc., which raised $22.2 million according to an SEC filing last month, now plans to become a publicly-traded company through a business combination with the special purpose acquisition company FoxWayne Enterprises Acquisition Corp.

The company announced the decision in a statement this week, noting that it chose to do so “to accelerate the development of Aerami’s diverse pipeline of next-generation inhaled therapies.”

The company expects to complete the transaction in the first quarter of 2022 and noted in its statement that Steve Thornton will remain CEO and the rest of the company’s leadership team will remain in their roles.

The combined company will retain the name Aerami Therapeutics Holdings, Inc., and its stock will trade on the Nasdaq Capital Market, the company statement noted.

FoxWayne will issue 25 million shares of common stock, representing consideration of about $250 million, the statement noted, and current Aerami shareholders will convert all equity interest into common stock of the combined company.

Durham’s Aerami Therapeutics has raised $22.2M

The company anticipates it will have cash resources of some $58 million following the combination.

The company will use the proceeds from the transaction to advance its AER-901 program.  The program is expected to enter into a Phase 2/3 clinical trial in 2022, and the company will file a 510(k) for clearance of its proprietary AFINA inhaler platform, the company noted in its statement.

“We are deeply committed to advancing inhaled therapies which address severe respiratory and chronic diseases,” said Thornton, in a statement.  “This transaction is expected to provide significant capital and a platform to accelerate the development of our drug product candidates including taking our lead product, inhaled imatinib for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension, into a planned Phase 2/3 trial in 2022.”

The boards of directors of both Aerami and FoxWayne have unanimously approved the proposed transaction, the companies noted.

Diabetes relief from an inhaler? Durham company says yes