Pharma BD Deal Intelligence
Outcome grade pending — assessed 5 years post-close.
Full analysis, sources & comparables →Genmab's $8B Merus takeout is latest push toward full ownership of programs. The company stated the deal would provide late-stage cancer asset petosemtamab, an…
Genmab is paying $8 billion to acquire Merus and its late-stage bispecific antibody petosemtamab, the companies said Monday. The deal, Genmab's largest ever,…
Genmab to buy Merus in $8B deal. The acquisition centers on Merus' experimental cancer drug petosemtamab. In May 2025, the company reported that when combined…
Source summaries from our enrichment pipeline; follow links for originals.
All 12 sources with sentiment breakdown →
Genmab acquired Merus for $97.00/share cash, total transaction value ~$8.0B. The tender offer (via subsidiary Genmab Holding II B.V.) completed and the acquisition closed on December 12, 2025, making Merus a wholly owned subsidiary of Genmab. The deal adds petosemtamab, an EGFRxLGR5 bispecific with two Breakthrough Therapy Designations for 1L and 2L+ head and neck cancer (SCCHN); Phase 2 data at ASCO 2025 showed ORR and PFS substantially above standard of care. Phase 3 trials (LiGeR-HN1, NCT06525220, 1L petosemtamab + pembrolizumab; and a 2L+ trial) are ongoing with topline readouts anticipated in 2026. Genmab targets an initial petosemtamab launch in 2027 and expects the asset to be EBITDA-accretive with >$1B annual sales potential by 2029. Funded via cash on hand plus ~$5.5B of non-convertible debt financing.
| Deal | Year | Value | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Genmab A/S / Merus N.V. (this deal) | 2025 | $8.0B | — |
| Genmab A/S / ProfoundBio Inc. | 2024 | $1.8B | 64 |
| Genmab A/S / Bolt Biotherapeutics, Inc. | 2021 | $880M | — |
| AstraZeneca PLC / Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited | 2019 | $6.9B | 100 |
| Novartis AG / Endocyte, Inc. | 2018 | $2.1B | 96 |
| Astellas Pharma Inc. / Seagen Inc. | 2009 | $4.5B | 95 |
| Bristol-Myers Squibb Company / Medarex Inc. | 2009 | $2.4B | 92 |
← Browse all deals · How we score deals
More: 2025 deals · Genmab A/S deals · Oncology deals