SomaLogic SPAC merger vote heading to shareholders after SEC sign-off

BOULDER — The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has approved a business combination registration statement from SomaLogic Inc. and special purpose acquisition company CM Life Sciences II (Nasdaq: CMIIU), and the companies’ proposed merger — which will take SomaLogic public — will soon be voted on by CM Life Sciences shareholders. 

That shareholder meeting is set for Aug. 31, and the closure of the merger is expected immediately after an affirmative vote.

Special purpose acquisition companies, known alternatively as SPACs, are companies set up by investment groups and taken onto a public exchange with no actual business. The entities are designed solely to raise funding and later merge with a company seeking to go public outside of the initial public offering process.

CM Life Sciences II is a subsidiary of Casdin Capital LLC, a life-sciences investment group with $1.31 billion in assets under management. 

“We are excited to enter the final stages of our business combination with SomaLogic and are naturally encouraged by the continued commercial traction exhibited throughout the first half of the year,” Casdin CEO Eli Casdin said in a prepared statement. “The long-promised power of proteomics is today a reality, and SomaLogic will be well-capitalized to accelerate commercial growth and expand its leading and customizable proteomics platform from lab to lab and into the clinic where it can change the practice of medicine.”

According to a preliminary report released Monday, SomaLogic expects to post sales of $19.7 million in the second quarter, an increase of approximately 176% over the same period last year.

“We have far exceeded our projections, and our year-to-date results reflect our team’s dedication and execution across key drivers of the business as well as the rapidly growing global interest in proteomics products and services,” SomaLogic CEO Roy Smythe said in a prepared statement. “In addition, we announced multiple developments in the second quarter to enhance our positioning for the future, including customizable and targeted content protein panels from our industry-leading 7,000-plex assay, a collaboration agreement with Novo Nordisk to support drug development, and a partnership with the world-class medical research center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. We have doubled our sales force since the beginning of the year and are targeting a substantial ramp into the second half of 2021. This is a mature technology and early-stage commercial business with a bright future.”

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