Better Therapeutics closes SPAC merger, debuts on Nasdaq

Better Therapeutics announced today that it completed its merger with Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp and has gone public on the Nasdaq.

San Francisco-based Better Therapeutics announced its intention to merge with Mountain Crest, a publicly-traded, special purpose acquisition corporation (SPAC), in April. Last month, the company confirmed its expectations for the $113 million SPAC merger to go through by the end of October, as it has today.

Mountain Crest shareholders approved the transaction at a special meeting held earlier this week after Better Therapeutics’ stockholders already approved it. The resulting combined company commenced trading on the Nasdaq market under the “BTTX” ticker today.

Better Therapeutics’ management team, led by Co-Founder & CEO Kevin Appelbaum, will lead the company. Dr. Mark Berman will serve as CMO, Kristin Wynholds is Chief Product Officer and Mark Heinen will serve as interim CFO, according to a news release.

“We envision a future where digital therapeutics are often the first prescription written in order to address the root causes of disease caused by patient behaviors,” Appelbaum said in the release. “The completion of this transaction and the capital raised will be instrumental in helping our team lead the way in this transformation, beginning with cardiometabolic diseases.”

The transaction generated approximately $70 million in gross proceeds from the business combination, a private investment in public equity (PIPE) and the first tranche of a credit facility from Hercules Capital that was contingent on the closing of the merger. Better Therapeutics also has access to an additional $40 million from the credit facility subject to certain milestones.

Proceeds from the transaction will be used to advance the company’s BT-001, its lead product for treating type 2 diabetes, through clinical trials and submission for FDA marketing authorization. BT-001 is an investigational, prescription digital therapeutic (PDT) designed to deliver a novel form of cognitive-behavioral therapy to patients with uncontrolled Type 2 diabetes. The company also has further PDTs for cardiometabolic disease in the pipeline.

“I am thrilled to see the completion of another business combination of the Mountain Crest franchise, and Better Therapeutics is tackling an important mission to deliver cognitive behavioral therapy in an accessible, scalable form,” Mountain Crest II Chairman & CEO Dr. Suying Liu said. “Better Therapeutics’ strong leadership team and industry know-how give us confidence that the company is well-positioned to be a pioneer in the digital therapeutics space.”

Original Article: (https://www.drugdeliverybusiness.com/better-therapeutics-closes-spac-merger-debuts-on-nasdaq/)