Merck to buy Harpoon Therapeutics for $680 million
Reuters
Published Jan 08, 2024 07:35AM ET
Updated Jan 08, 2024 10:30AM ET
(Reuters) -Merck & Co said on Monday it would buy cancer drug developer Harpoon Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HARP) for about $680 million, reinforcing its oncology portfolio with immunotherapies.
The U.S. drugmaker has been doubling down on building future revenue streams as its blockbuster immunotherapy, Keytruda, inches closer to losing key patents, opening the doors for competition from biosimilars.
Merck has offered $23 per share in cash for California-based Harpoon, representing a 118% premium to the stock's last close on Friday.
Shares of Harpoon more than doubled premarket on Monday after deal talks were first reported by Bloomberg.
Harpoon has two immunotherapies in early stage development - one for a type of lung cancer and the other for multiple myeloma.
Immunotherapies harness the power of the body's immune system to treat people suffering from cancer and work by directing the patient's T cells to recognize and attack the cancer.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.