Biotech company Senti Bio to go public via $600 mln SPAC deal

Dec 20 (Reuters) - Biotechnology company Senti Biosciences Inc has agreed to go public through a merger with blank-check firm Dynamics Special Purpose Corp (DYNS.O) in a deal that values the combined company at $601 million.

Senti, short for "sentient", uses a gene circuit technology platform that engineers DNA to create cell and gene therapies which the company claims can sense and respond to ailments inside the human body.

"The way I like to think about it - just like you can program a computer with different programs or different maps, we can do the same thing with medicines," co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Timothy Lu told Reuters.

"We're trying to create smart drugs essentially."

A faculty member at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Lu co-founded Senti Bio in 2016 with Philip Lee and Jim Collins, he said. Collins was one of the founders of the field of synthetic biology.

The company has two ongoing collaborations with Bayer AG (BAYGn.DE) and Roche Holding AG , Lu said, on stem cell therapies and gene therapy applications, respectively. Its internal programs are focused on cancer treatments.

The deal is expected to result in gross proceeds of over $296 million, which includes over $66 million of private investment in public equity, or PIPE, from the venture investment arm of Amgen Inc (AMGN.O), funds and accounts managed by Morgan Stanley's Counterpoint Global, T. Rowe Price funds and others.

The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2022, after which the merged entity will be listed on the Nasdaq.

J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley advised Dynamics on the deal, while BofA Securities advised Senti Bio.

Reporting by Sohini Podder in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri