Malin shares rise as it buys stake in UK drugs firm

Shares in Irish life sciences and biotech investment firm, Malin Corporation, rose 4% as it bought a 33% stake in UK company, Wren Therapeutics, which is focused on drugs used to fight Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease.

Malin shares are listed on the Irish Stock Exchange’s Enterprise Securities Market (ESM).

Cambridge-based Wren focuses on drug discovery and clinical translation of molecules that will impact 30 protein misfolding diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and type-2 diabetes.

Wren, spun out of the University of Cambridge and Lund University, Sweden, was formally founded in 2016. Under the transaction terms, Malin has an option to increase its shareholding to 67%.

Chief executive of Malin, Kelly Martin, is a former chief executive of Elan.

Malin was formed in 2014, by former Elan executives, to invest in life science firms that see trade sales or IPOs as premature moves.

It counts the Irish Strategic Investment Fund and the UK-based Woodford Investment Management as cornerstone backers.

Last year, Malin secured €70m in debt funding from the European Investment Bank to enable the company to increase stakes in companies in which it has already invested, and to meet further acquisition opportunities.

Malin, which joined the ESM junior market last year, has carried out a number of investments in drug development and biotechnology firms in Ireland, the UK, and the US.