MRK Merck and Co Inc

By Chris Wack

Merck & Co. (MRK) said Tuesday that one of its units is buying Peloton Therapeutics Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company.

Merck said in a release that a subsidiary would acquire Peloton in exchange for an upfront payment of $1.05 billion in cash. In addition, Peloton shareholders will be eligible to receive a further $1.15 billion contingent upon successful achievement of future regulatory and sales milestones for certain candidates.

The companies anticipate the acquisition will close in the third quarter of 2019.

Peloton's lead candidate is PT2977, a novel oral HIF-2<ALPHA> inhibitor in late-stage development for renal cell carcinoma.

Write to Chris Wack at chris.wack@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 21, 2019 07:45 ET (11:45 GMT)

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