Digital treatment developer Pear Therapeutics on Monday began trading on the Nasdaq after completing a merger with a special purpose acquisition company it first announced in the summer.
Here are five things to know about Pear Therapeutics and its recent SPAC merger:
1. Pear Therapeutics, a company that develops app-based therapies, merged with Thimble Point Acquisition Corp. in a deal expected to generate roughly $175 million in gross proceeds. The company, publicly trading under the ticker symbol "PEAR," closed at $10 a share when markets closed Monday. It was trading closer to $8 Tuesday at noon Eastern Standard Time.
2. Pear Therapeutics announced plans to merge with Thimble Point in June. Thimble Point's shareholders approved the merger last week on Nov. 30.
3. Pear Therapeutics plans to use net proceeds from the merger to continue to commercialize three therapies cleared by the Food and Drug Administration for substance use disorder, opioid use disorder and chronic insomnia, as well as expand work with payers and build software programs to treat additional diseases, said Dr. Corey McCann, Pear Therapeutics's co-founder, president and CEO, in a news release.
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4. Pear Therapeutics, founded in 2013, was one of the first companies to earn FDA clearance for a digital therapeutic in 2017, with a mobile app used as part of outpatient treatment for substance use disorders. The app delivers interactive cognitive behavioral therapy and provides a way for patients to report information to clinicians. All of Pear Therapeutics's digital therapies require a prescription.
5. Eight digital health companies went public through mergers with SPACs in the first three quarter of 2021, according to Rock Health, an early-stage digital health venture fund that also compiles research on the sector. A SPAC—also known as a blank check company—raises money through an initial public offering and then acquires other companies and takes them public.