Syncona has submitted a non-binding proposal to a special committee of the board of Freeline Therapeutics offering to buy all the shares its does not already own for an upfront cash payment of $5.00 per American Depositary Share. This equates to a premium of 20% over the volume weighted average price of $4.16 over the period since the release of Freeline’s recent clinical data release on 4 October 2023 until close on 16 October 2023. Syncona currently owns approximately 57.9% of the issued share capital of Freeline.
Syncona co-founded Freeline in 2015 and has been a long-term shareholder in the business. Freeline is focused on its FLT201 gene therapy programme for the treatment of Gaucher disease, a debilitating condition where there is a clear need for better treatment options. Syncona believes the programme has the potential to deliver a drug with transformational impact for patients and that Freeline has a team that can execute effectively on that opportunity. Syncona was pleased to see recent positive data from the first two patients in its phase I/II trial, which it says demonstrated a compelling safety profile and robust enzyme activity for FLT201.
Chris Hollowood, who is chief executive officer of Syncona Investment Management Limited, and a current member of the Freeline board, has been excluded from discussions.
SYNC : Syncona bidding for Freeline Therapeutics