Merck Makes $1 Billion Deal -- WSJ
September 15 2020 - 3:02AM
Dow Jones News
By Dave Sebastian
This article is being republished as part of our daily
reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S.
print edition of The Wall Street Journal (September 15, 2020).
Merck & Co. said it is investing $1 billion in Seattle
Genetics Inc., as the companies collaborate on developing and
selling Seattle Genetics' breast-cancer treatments.
Merck said it is buying five million shares, or 2.9% of shares
outstanding, at about $200 a share. Seattle Genetics shares closed
2.5% higher to $149.97 Friday. Seattle Genetics shares rose 2.6% in
premarket trading Monday.
Seattle Genetics is also taking a $600 million upfront payment
from Merck and is eligible for milestone-related payments of up to
$2.6 billion, the companies said Monday.
The companies said they would work on Seattle Genetics'
ladiratuzumab vedotin, a drug currently in Phase 2 clinical trials
for breast cancer and other tumors. They said they would
collaborate on evaluating the drug as a monotherapy in combination
with Merck's Keytruda.
Seattle Genetics has also granted Merck an exclusive license to
sell the Tukysa drug for the treatment of breast cancers that test
positive for a protein called human epidermal growth factor
receptor 2, the companies said, in Asia, the Middle East, Latin
America and other regions outside the U.S., Canada and Europe.
Seattle Genetics will take a $125 million upfront payment from
Merck and is eligible for milestone-based payments of up to $65
million, the companies said.
Write to Dave Sebastian at dave.sebastian@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 15, 2020 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)
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