Nanyang Biologics Pte. Ltd. (NYB), together with its subsidiaries, announced the signing of a business combination agreement with RF Acquisition Corp II, a publicly listed special purpose acquisition company, to pursue Nasdaq listing.
The transaction aims to bring NYB to the public markets, with the combined company expected to list on Nasdaq under the reserved ticker symbol “NYB, NYB said in a statement on last Thursday.
NYB operates a comprehensive artificial intelligence (AI)-driven drug discovery platform that combines the medicinal potential of natural compounds with advanced technology.
Its flagship platform, Vecura™ AI, is powered by DTIGN (Drug-Target Interaction Graph Neural Network), a proprietary engine that integrates structural and outcome data to enable faster identification of promising drug candidates and reduce research and development (R&D) costs.
NYB’s pipeline includes multiple nature-inspired small molecules, such as NB-B101 (solid tumors), NB-C201 (cardiovascular health), and NB-C301 (mental health), all in preclinical development.
The company holds a growing IP portfolio covering both therapeutic candidates and proprietary nutraceuticals.
NB-A002, NYB’s lead candidate, is a first-in-class oncology therapeutic targeting ILF2, a previously undruggable protein.
It induces synthetic lethality in DDR and HRD cancers, including BRCA-mutated and BRCAness tumors.
With a global DDR therapy market projected to grow from $8.3 billion to $19.5 billion by the mid-2030s, and 91 percent of pan-cancer cases in Chinese populations carrying actionable DDR/HRD alterations, NB-A002 is positioned to address significant unmet medical demand.
The NYB-NTU joint laboratory, a collaboration with Nanyang Technological University Singapore, supports AI engine development and compound discovery.
The partnership focuses on expanding NYB’s discovery capabilities across oncology, cardiovascular, metabolic, and mental health indications.
The combined company will be led by NYB Chairman Roland Ong and Lead Principal Investigator Professor Li Hoi Yeung, who co-founded the joint laboratory five years ago.
Shareholders including The9 Limited and Mercatus Capital will retain a majority of the combined company’s outstanding shares and will designate a majority of board nominees.
This transaction values NYB at approximately $1.5 billion pre-transaction equity.
Closing is expected in the first quarter or the second quarter of 2026, subject to shareholder approval and customary closing conditions.
Singapore-based biotechnology company Terra Oleo raises $3.1M funding