Biotech Acquisition Company (BIOT) Postpones Shareholder Vote Again

Biotech Acquisition Company (NASDAQ:NAAC) announced this morning that it has for a second time postponed its special meeting to approve its combination with Blade Therapeutics.

This meeting was first pushed back from June 1 and the SPAC has not yet set a new date. As with the previous postponement, Biotech noted that it has obtained sufficient votes to approve the transaction but it needs additional time to satisfy all closing conditions. The record date for the vote remains unchanged as March 28.

Biotech is required to maintain at least $75 million in cash available through its trust and PIPE proceeds in order for the deal to close. It initially announced a $24.3 million PIPE and signed a common stock purchase agreement on May 9 with an affiliate of Cantor Fitzgerald for it to purchase up to $75 million in the combined company’s shares post-close.

Biotech, which raised $230 million at IPO, initially announced its $352.8 million deal with Blade Therapeutics on November 8. San Francisco-based Blade Therapeutics is developing three drug candidates as potential therapies against varying forms of organ fibrosis with its most advanced having completed Phase I.

In April, Blade announced that the FDA has provided the feedback necessary in order for it to proceed to Phase II proof of concept and dose-ranging studies for its cudetaxestat drug candidate.