Sep. 16 at 3:40 PM
$PHIO Phio (PHIO) is currently in Phase 1, 5th cohort. A lot of people think buyouts only happen once a drug is in Phase 2 or 3, but there are plenty of examples of Phase 1 acquisitions in recent years:
Capstan Therapeutics → AbbVie (2025): lead in-vivo CAR-T in Phase 1, deal worth up to ~
$2.1B.
Scorpion Therapeutics (program) → Eli Lilly (2025): PI3Kα inhibitor in Phase 1/2, deal up to ~
$2.5B.
IDRx → GSK (2025): KIT TKI in Phase I/Ib, ~
$1.15B with
$1B upfront.
Curon Biopharma asset (CN201) → Merck (2024–25): bispecific in Phase 1, ~
$1.3B total deal.
So yes — companies do get scooped up while still in Phase 1 if (a) mechanism looks differentiated, (b) early human data show clean safety/PK with a hint of efficacy, and (c) the buyer has a pipeline gap to fill.