Merck (MRK.N), opens new tab will acquire Cidara Therapeutics (CDTX.O) , opens new tab in a nearly $9.2 billion deal, gaining access to an experimental flu drug in its effort to diversify ahead of patent loss for its blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda.
The drugmaker will pay $221.50 per share in cash for Cidara, the companies said on Friday, a premium of 108.9% from its last closing price.
Shares of Cidara, which has a market capitalization of $3.3 billion as of Thursday, doubled in value to $217.89, while Merck slipped 1.3%.
Merck, which is set to lose patents for Keytruda later this decade, has nearly tripled its late-stage pipeline since 2021 through in-house development and big deals such as the $11.5 billion purchase of Acceleron for pulmonary arterial hypertension drug Winrevair.
The company had in July signed a $10 billion buyout of UK-based Verona Pharma gaining Ohtuvayre, a newly approved drug for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, commonly known as "smoker's lung".
