As Deadlines Loom, SPACs Strike Array of Pacts With Health Firms

Deal-needy SPACs have struck a series of pacts to take small health-care companies public as they race against the clock to avoid the risk of forfeiting the money they raised.

Since early April, at least nine health firms — predominantly medical devicemakers and drug developers — have agreed to mergers to go public via US special purpose acquisition companies, accounting for roughly 40% of the deals announced in that period.

EnGene Inc., a biotech company, and Avertix Medical Inc., maker of a device that can detect heart attacks, are among the most recent SPAC deals in the health ...