FILE PHOTO: The Merck logo is seen at a gate to the Merck & Co campus in Rahway, New Jersey, U.S., July 12, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
September 30, 2021
(Reuters) – Merck & Co will buy drugmaker Acceleron Pharma Inc for about $11.5 billion, the companies said on Thursday, as the U.S. pharmaceutical giant looks to beef up its portfolio with drugs for rare diseases.
Merck will pay $180 per Acceleron share in cash, representing a premium of about 2.6% to the stock’s closing price on Wednesday, according to Refinitiv data.
Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Acceleron focuses on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapeutics to treat cardiovascular and other blood-related disorders.
The company is developing Sotatercept, which is currently in a late-stage study, to treat a rare cardiovascular disease called pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), a type of high blood pressure that affects the lungs.
Rare disease treatments is a lucrative market for drugmakers as they can charge more for these unique drugs. The PAH market is expected to grow at a 5% compound annual growth rate from 2019 to 2029 in the seven major markets, according to GlobalData, a data and analytics company.
In 2017, Johnson & Johnson bought Swiss biotech company Actelion and its pulmonary hypertension drugs in a $30 billion all-cash deal. Merck is also developing a treatment for the indication, which is currently in a mid-stage study. Along with Sotatercept, Merck will gain access to Reblozyl, which is approved for the treatment of two blood-related disorders, including anemia in patients with beta thalassemia.
The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter.
(Reporting by Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi, Sriraj Kalluvila and Anil D’Silva)
Source: One America News Network
