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news.Merck (MSD) has agreed to acquire all the outstanding shares of Acceleron Pharma for $11.5bn in cash.
The deal will help Merck gain access to Acceleron’s lead therapeutic candidate, sotatercept. Credit: Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., U.S.A. All rights reserved.
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As agreed, Merck’s subsidiary will commence a tender offer for the purchase of shares of Acceleron for $180 per share.
Following completion of deal, this subsidiary of Merck will be combined into Acceleron.
Merck expects this combination to boost its cardiovascular pipeline.
With regard to the remaining shares of Acceleron’s common stock, they will be cancelled and converted into the right to receive the deal price with per share valued at $180 payable in the tender offer.
Merck CEO and president Rob Davis said: “Strategic business development is a top priority for Merck as we look to drive sustainable growth and further bolster and balance our pipeline with breakthrough science.
“Acceleron’s innovative research has yielded an exciting late-stage candidate that complements and strengthens our growing cardiovascular portfolio and pipeline and holds the potential to build upon Merck’s proud legacy in cardiovascular disease.”
The acquisition is expected to close in Q4 2021, and its completion is subject to customary conditions and regulatory approvals.
The deal will help Merck gain access to Acceleron’s lead therapeutic candidate, sotatercept.
This therapy comes with a potential to improve clinical outcomes in the short-term and/or long-term in patients suffering with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), which is a progressive disorder in blood vessel and can also be life-threatening.
Currently, sotatercept is being evaluated in Phase III clinical trials as an add-on therapy to the current standard of care to treat patients suffering with PAH.
Acceleron’s portfolio also consists of Reblozyl (luspatercept-aamt), which is a first-in-class erythroid maturation recombinant fusion protein.
Reblozyl has received approval in Europe, Australia, the US, and Canada for treating anaemia in patients diagnosed with some rare blood disorders.
