Pharma BD Deal Intelligence

Merck & Co. Inc. / Curon Biopharmaceutical (Shanghai) Co. Ltd.

2024 · Asset Purchase · $1.3B · Complete

Outcome grade pending — assessed 5 years post-close.

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The coverage arc

Aug 09, 2024 Endpoints News Bullish

Merck is paying $700 million upfront and up to $600 million in milestones to acquire global rights to CN201, a CD19xCD3 bispecific T-cell engager, from China's…

Aug 12, 2024 BioPharma Dive Bullish

Merck is acquiring global rights to CN201, a CD19xCD3 bispecific antibody, from Shanghai-based Curon Biopharmaceutical for $700 million upfront and up to…

Oct 01, 2024 www.merck.com Neutral

Merck Completes Acquisition of Investigational B-Cell Depletion Therapy, CN201, from Curon Biopharmaceutical (October 1, 2024).

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Merck entered a definitive agreement to acquire global rights to CN201 from Curon Biopharmaceutical for $700M upfront plus up to $600M in milestones contingent on development and regulatory approval. The acquisition was completed on October 1, 2024 (Merck recorded a pre-tax charge of ~$750M reflecting the upfront payment and related costs). CN201 is a CD3xCD19 bispecific T-cell engager in Phase 1 for r/r NHL and Phase 1b/2 for r/r B-ALL, with potential in B-cell autoimmune diseases. Top-25 pharma buyer.

Key facts

Related deals — scored

DealYearValueOutcome
Merck & Co. Inc. / Curon Biopharmaceutical (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. (this deal)2024$1.3B
Merck & Co. Inc. / Acceleron Pharma Inc.2021$11.5B90
Merck & Co. Inc. / Peloton Therapeutics Inc.2019$2.2B88
Merck & Co. Inc. / AstraZeneca PLC2017$8.5B87
Merck & Co. Inc. / Moderna, Inc.2022$250M86
Merck & Co. Inc. / Moderna, Inc.2016$250M84
Merck & Co. Inc. / Eisai Co., Ltd.2018$5.8B83

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