Acceleron Pharma

Acceleron Pharma is a biopharmaceutical company that develops drugs for the treatment of respiratory and blood diseases.

History

2021: Merck bought Acceleron Pharma for $11.5 billion

At the end of September 2021, Merck announced the purchase of Acceleron Pharma for about $11.5 billion, which will allow the first to expand the product portfolio. Merck has faced pressure to expand its sales beyond the cancer drug Keytruda, which accounts for more than a third of its revenue. She is among several companies looking for future popular drugs through acquisitions including Sanofi, Pfizer, Amgen, Gilead Sciences and Roche.

The deal gives Merck access to an Acceleron drug designed to treat rare diseases, a sotatercept drug that Merck predicts could bring peak sales of $2 billion. The lung cancer drug accounted for 36.7%, or $4.18 billion of Merck's total sales in the second quarter of 2021. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Merck acquired Acceleron Pharma for $11.5 billion

The sotatercept drug as of September 30, 2021 is at a late stage of research, where it is being tested as a treatment for a rare cardiovascular disease called pulmonary arterial hypertension (LAS), a type of high blood pressure affecting blood vessels in the lungs. Merck plans to begin sales of sotatercept in the United States in 2024-2025, and its market exclusivity in relation to the company is expected to last until 2036-2037.

The drugmaker will pay $180 per share of Acceleron, which is a premium of about 2.6% of the share price at the close of trading on September 29, 2021. Although the deal with Acceleron will not completely eliminate competition from generic drugs hanging over Keytruda, it will help diversify sales, which solves the problem of large shareholders.

The deal will also add to Merck's portfolio the Food and Drug Administration (FDA )-approved blood disease drug Reblozyl, which Acceleron sells with Bristol Myers partner Squibb.^[1]

Notes