The acquisition is a quiet end for EQRx, which was launched three years ago by biotech venture capitalist Alexis Borisy and quickly became one of the sector’s most closely watched startups.
EQRx formed with an unusual mission to develop lower-cost branded alternatives to existing top-selling medicines. The company raised more than $2 billion for this “fast follower” approach of licensing or acquiring would-be competitors to marketed drugs and undercutting them on price. It went public two years ago by merging with a special-purpose acquisition company, and began testing would-be rivals to a variety of top-selling cancer medicines.
