Merck: buys ArQule to expand cancer treatment portfolio
(CercleFinance.com) - US drugmaker Merck agreed to buy ArQule for 2.
7 billion dollars in cash, gaining access to the Nasdaq-listed company's lead B-cell malignancies drug candidate.
The agreement stipulates that Merck will initiate a tender offer to acquire all of ArQule's outstanding shares at 20 dollars each.
By comparison, the stock closed at around 9.7 dollars on Friday.
ArQule's lead investigational candidate, ARQ 531, is a novel, oral tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor that is currently in a Phase 2 dose expansion study for the treatment of B-cell malignancies, including leukemic cells.
The acquisition is expected to close early in the first quarter of 2020, Merck said.
Copyright (c) 2019 CercleFinance.com. All rights reserved.
7 billion dollars in cash, gaining access to the Nasdaq-listed company's lead B-cell malignancies drug candidate.
The agreement stipulates that Merck will initiate a tender offer to acquire all of ArQule's outstanding shares at 20 dollars each.
By comparison, the stock closed at around 9.7 dollars on Friday.
ArQule's lead investigational candidate, ARQ 531, is a novel, oral tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor that is currently in a Phase 2 dose expansion study for the treatment of B-cell malignancies, including leukemic cells.
The acquisition is expected to close early in the first quarter of 2020, Merck said.
Copyright (c) 2019 CercleFinance.com. All rights reserved.