VERAXA and Voyager to Create Combined Business for Advancing Pipeline of Next-Gen Cancer Therapies

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On April 23, 2025, VERAXA Biotech (VERAXA), a Switzerland-based biotech company specializing in designing novel cancer therapies, announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Voyager Acquisition, a US-headquartered special purpose acquisition company focused on the healthcare sector, to create a combined business. This proposed business combination would create a publicly traded, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that will focus on the development of a comprehensive pipeline of next-generation cancer therapies. Upon closing, VERAXA Biotech will be listed on the NASDAQ exchange under the proposed ticker symbol VERX (1).

Under the agreement, VERAXA’s equity value contribution into the business combination is expected to amount to approximately $1.3 billion. Assuming a $10.00 per share price (and no redemptions) of Voyager’s shares by Voyager’s public shareholders, VERAXA’s (as a combined entity) implied pro forma equity value is expected to be approximately $1.64 billion at closing (1).

VERAXA is advancing a drug discovery and development engine for antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and other novel antibody-based therapy concepts. The company’s technology includes a scalable proprietary technology platform, the Bi-Targeted Antibody Cytotoxicity (BiTAC) platform, which enables a highly specific dual-marker approach. Using BiTAC, the company can accelerate a pipeline of next-generation cancer therapies with the potential to expand the therapeutic window of current standard-of-care treatments for solid tumors and with improved safety and efficacy profiles.

“VERAXA is committed to developing and delivering the next wave of safe and highly efficacious cancer therapies. Our platform technologies can be applied to empower multiple therapeutic strategies spanning next-generation antibody-drug conjugates including our BiTAC ADCs and bi-specific BiTAC immune cell engagers,” said Christoph Antz, PhD, CEO and co-founder of VERAXA, in the company press release (1). “Side effects too often limit today’s cancer therapies and prevent doctors from applying optimal dose levels. Our latest platform innovation, the BiTAC format, is designed to specifically address this issue and create first-in-class drug candidates with unprecedented safety and efficacy.”

In addition, VERAXA has recently widened the scope of its artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled technology platform. The company is now actively pursuing two major drug modalities:

• next-generation bispecific (bs) ADCs—BiTAC ADCs and bsADCs
• bispecific antibodies targeting key immune cells—T cell engagers (TCEs).

Both these therapeutic modalities represent highly active and growing markets within the cancer therapy sector, respectively, with the global TCE market projected to reach $112 billion in 2030 (compound annual growth rate [CAGR] of > 44%), and the global ADC market size projected to reach $57 billion by 2030 (CAGR of ~ 30%), according to VERAXA in its release (1). Meanwhile, the global ADCs market size was estimated at $11.29 billion in 2023, and growth is projected at a CAGR of 9.2% to 2030 (2).

“Voyager’s mission is to identify innovative healthcare companies positioned for long-term success with strong business models and expansive total addressable markets. VERAXA exemplifies all these compelling characteristics, underscored by a steadfast commitment to bring transformative drug modalities to cancer patients through pursuing strategic global partnerships and advancing its proprietary pipeline,” said Adeel Rouf, chief executive officer and director of Voyager Acquisition, in the release. “We believe that the rapid change that ADCs and bispecific therapies have delivered and will continue to deliver to cancer therapy creates compelling opportunities for those with the vision to capitalize on them.”

The boards of directors of both Voyager and VERAXA have unanimously approved the business combination transaction, which is expected to close in the 2025 fourth quarter.

References

1. VERAXA Biotech. ‍Voyager Acquisition Corp. Announce Business Combination Agreement to Create Nasdaq-Listed Biopharmaceutical Company Advancing a Pipeline of Next-Generation Cancer Therapies. Press Release. April 23, 2025.
2. Grand View Research. Antibody Drug Conjugates Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report by Application (Blood Cancer, Breast Cancer), By Technology (Type-cleavable, Non-cleavable), By Product, By Target, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2024–2030. Market Research Report, grandviewresearch.com, April 2024.