Xoma buys a cheap Mural

Mural Oncology has been a zombie company for a while, and now it's succumbed to one of biotech’s grim reapers, Xoma Royalty. In April Mural discontinued its then-lead asset, the IL-2 project nemvaleukin alfa, following failure of the Artistry-6 and 7 trials. The group also had preclinical IL-18 and IL-12 projects, MURA-8518 and MURA-7012 respectively, but has since discontinued these. The main attraction for Xoma, as is usual in these types of deals, will have been cash. The acquisition is worth $2.035-2.240 per share, or $35.2-38.8m in total, depending on Mural’s balance on closing. The lower price assumes that Mural will have $36.2m in closing net cash, with the higher being payable if this is exceeded. As of June 2025 the group, which spun out of Alkermes in 2023, had $77.1m in the bank, and expected have $43-48m by year end, so Xoma could make a tidy sum. The royalty specialist has also acquired several other oncology players this year, scooping up Lava Therapeutics, Essa Pharma and Turnstone Biologics. Another group using the same playbook is the Tang Capital Partners-backed Concentra Biosciences, which has bought several groups including iTeos, Cargo and Elevation Oncology.

Xoma’s recent oncology transactions

Note: *exact price will be determined based on Essa’s cash balance at closing after deducting certain costs. Source: OncologyPipeline & company releases.