Merck getting on Treg train with $1.85B acquisition

US biotech Pandion Therapeutics’ (Nasdaq: PAND) shares rocketed 133% to $59.63 in morning trading, after it was revealed that it has agreed to be acquired by US pharma giant Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK).

Merck’s offer is for $60 per share of Pandion in cash, which represents an approximate total equity value of $1.85 billion, and a hefty 134% premium to the firm’s Wednesday closing price. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2021.

“This acquisition builds upon Merck’s strategy to identify and secure candidates with differentiated and potentially foundational characteristics,” said Dr Dean Li, president, Merck Research Laboratories. “Pandion has applied its TALON technology to develop a robust pipeline of candidates designed to re-balance the immune response with potential applications across a wide array of autoimmune diseases,” he noted.