U.S. Biotech Expands Heart Failure Portfolio with First Nasal Spray Diuretic

US-based biotech company Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ESPR) on March 2 entered into a merger agreement under Delaware law to acquire Corstasis Therapeutics as a wholly owned subsidiary through its subsidiary Cirrus Transaction Subsidiary. In the deal, Corstasis shareholders will receive $75 million in cash as the base merger consideration, plus additional contingent payments tied to future regulatory and commercial milestones, revenue-based payments and license-revenue sharing. Both the Corstasis and Esperion boards have approved the transaction, and holders of 50.1% of Corstasis’s common stock have signed a merger support agreement, enhancing the deal’s likelihood of closing.

In a joint press release on March 3, the companies noted that Corstasis’s product Enbumyst—a bumetanide nasal spray—is the first nasal loop diuretic approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treating edema in adult patients with congestive heart failure and hepatic or renal disorders. Beyond the $75 million upfront payment, Esperion structured the transaction to include up to $180 million in regulatory and commercial milestone payments and future global sales royalties. The acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026.

Esperion, a Nasdaq-listed developer of cardiovascular therapies, has been expanding its footprint with its hyperlipidemia treatments Nexletol and Nexlizet, projecting 35–38% year-over-year growth in U.S. net sales for 2025. The company is pursuing a strategy of diversifying its portfolio with additional oral treatment options in the lipid and cardiovascular disease space, and this acquisition is seen as a move to address growing demand for noninvasive diuretics in the heart-failure and edema markets.