After Rallybio was left hanging by Candid Therapeutics — who got bought up by UCB for $2 billion, instead of going public as planned in a reverse merger with its fellow biotech — the drugmaker has found a new M&A partner. Rallybio has set its sights on a merger with Avenzo Therapeutics, prompting its shares to climb about 15% on Monday. While the exact share exchange ratio will be determined closer to the deal close, expected in the fourth quarter, the combined company will operate under the Avenzo name, be led by Avenzo CEO Athena Countouriotis, and list on NASDAQ under the ticker "AVZO."Alongside the merger, Avenzo is raising a $215-million private placement from a slew of investors including Blackstone, Vivo Capital, Affinity Asset Advisors, ADAR1 Capital Management, OrbiMed, SR One, Foresite Capital, Surveyor Capital, Longwood Fund, New Enterprise Associates, Deep Track Capital, Sands Capital, Lilly Asia Ventures and Sofinnova Investments, among others. Between the financing and both drugmakers' existing cash balance, the combined company is expected to have runway into late 2028 and sufficient funds to support development of Avenzo's four clinical programmes, in-licensed from three Chinese biotechs, and the launch of multiple Phase II studies (see – Spotlight On: China biotech's NewCo model takes centre stage).Avenzo has partnered with Allorion Therapeutics for rights to CDK2 inhibitor AVZO-021 and CDK4 inhibitor AVZO-023; gained an EGFR/HER3 bispecific antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), AVZO-1418, from Duality Bio; and licensed a Nectin4/TROP2 bispecific ADC, AVZO-103, from VelaVigo.AVZO-021 is being studied in two Phase I trials involving patients with HR-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer. In the first, it's being dosed alongside fulvestrant, and in the second, the CDK2 inhibitor is given in combination with AVZO-023.The Phase I/II AVENTINE-1 trial is evaluating AVZO-1418 in patients with solid tumours, and the Phase I/II BEACON-1 study is assessing AVZO-103 monotherapy in multiple tumor types, including urothelial cancer. Updated data from AVENTINE-1 and an initial readout from BEACON-1 are due later this year.