Harpoon Therapeutics Inc . (NASDAQ:HARP) doubled in pre-open trading Monday to $21 per share amid reports from Bloomberg News that Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) is in advanced talks to acquire the company for roughly $700 million, or $23 per share.
A takeover could be announced soon unless talks fall apart, it was added.
A deal, if announced, would help Merck's leadership position in the oncology space as it looks for new opportunities given that its blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda could face pricing pressures later this decade.
Harpoon didn't respond to Bloomberg's request to comment, and Merck declined to comment.