Monday, December 9, 2019

Merck Expands Oncology Portfolio

On 9 December 2019,New Jersey-based pharma titan Merck announced it is acquiring biopharmaceutical prospect ArCule,Inc. for 20 dollars a share,or about 2.7 billion dollars.ArCule's lead investigational candidate,ARQ 531,is an oral medication in a phase 2 dose expansion study for the treatment of B-cell malignancies (leukemia).
ARQ 531 is a highly selective, reversible inhibitor that,in early clinical trials, demonstrated a manageable safety profile and early signs of anti-tumour activity for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refactory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and Richter's Transformation.*
ArQule CEO Paolo Pucci said:
With this agreement,ArQule's pipeline will benefit from Merck's vast capabilities and determined engagement to benefit the patients who we have always strived to serve.*
ArQule's discovery efforts are focused on the identification and development of novel kinase inhibitors, the company noted.iAll four of its drug candidates are in targeted, biomarker-defined patient populations.*
Merck&Co Inc (MRK), ArQule Inc (ARQC)

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