89bio, Inc. (ETNB)

89bio, Inc. was a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in San Francisco that focused on therapies for liver and cardiometabolic diseases. The company was formed in 2018 and had early operations tied to Israel. Its strategy was to develop treatments for serious conditions with limited options, particularly metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, commonly abbreviated MASH and formerly known as NASH.

Its lead product candidate was pegozafermin, formerly BIO89-100, a glycoPEGylated analog of fibroblast growth factor 21, or FGF21, a hormone that helps regulate metabolism. The glycoPEGylation technology was intended to extend the molecule's half-life so that it could be administered weekly or every two weeks. Pegozafermin was studied for MASH with advanced fibrosis, including compensated cirrhosis, and for severe hypertriglyceridemia.

89bio listed its common stock on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker ETNB in November 2019 through an initial public offering. After the offering, it advanced pegozafermin through Phase 2 studies in MASH and severe hypertriglyceridemia, and then into Phase 3 programs. As a development-stage company it had no approved products and relied on equity financings to fund its trials.

On September 18, 2025, 89bio announced a definitive agreement under which Roche would acquire the company through a tender offer. The terms were $14.50 per share in cash at closing plus one non-tradeable contingent value right, or CVR, entitling holders to up to an additional $6.00 per share in cash if specified milestones are achieved. The transaction reflected Roche's interest in the growing market for MASH treatments, and 89bio's board recommended that stockholders tender their shares. Roche is a Swiss multinational healthcare company with substantial pharmaceutical and diagnostics businesses.

The tender offer expired one minute after 11:59 p.m. New York City time on October 29, 2025, and was not extended. Roche reported on October 30, 2025 that about 94.1 million shares, roughly 60.5 percent of the outstanding common stock, had been validly tendered, excluding shares tendered by guaranteed delivery that had not yet been received. Because the minimum condition was satisfied, Roche was able to complete the second-step merger without a stockholder vote.

Roche planned to complete the merger on October 30, 2025, under Delaware law, converting the remaining shares into the right to receive the same cash and CVR consideration, other than shares held by 89bio, Roche or its subsidiaries and shares for which appraisal rights were validly exercised. Following the merger, 89bio became a wholly owned subsidiary of Roche, its stock ceased trading on the Nasdaq Global Market, and a Form 25 was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.