Pharma BD Deal Intelligence

Merck & Co. Inc. / Verona Pharma plc

2025 · Acquisition/Merger · $10.0B · Complete

Outcome grade pending — assessed 5 years post-close.

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The coverage arc

Jun 26, 2024 FDA Drug Approval Announcement Bullish

On June 26, 2024, the Food and Drug Administration approved ensifentrine (Ohtuvayre, Verona Pharma, Inc.), a selective inhibitor of both phosphodiesterase…

Jul 09, 2025 STAT News Bullish

Merck said Wednesday that it will buy Verona Pharma for $10 billion to bolster the pharma giant's lung-disease business and help replace the expected loss of…

Apr 30, 2026 Merck 1Q26 Prepared Remarks Neutral

First quarter post-close: Ohtuvayre sales were $131 million, adversely impacted by the CMS reimbursement change and Medicare deductible resets. Prescription…

Source summaries from our enrichment pipeline; follow links for originals.

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Merck agreed to acquire Verona Pharma for $107/ADS cash, total ~$10B transaction value. Adds Ohtuvayre, first-in-class PDE3/PDE4 inhibitor approved June 2024 for COPD maintenance, the first novel inhaled mechanism for COPD in over two decades. Closed Q4 2025. In Q1 2026 — the first full quarter under Merck — Ohtuvayre posted $131M in sales (down 26% sequentially) as a CMS reimbursement change and Medicare deductible resets weighed on the launch; Merck reported >1,600 new patient starts, a March prescription recovery, and expects H2 2026 acceleration.

Key facts

Related deals — scored

DealYearValueOutcome
Merck & Co. Inc. / Verona Pharma plc (this deal)2025$10.0B
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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