Merck in talks to buy Harpoon Therapeutics for around $700 mln - Bloomberg News

Harpoon Therapeutics

08/01/2024 05:33

Jan 7 (Reuters) - Merck & Co  MRK.N  is in advanced
talks to buy cancer drugmaker Harpoon Therapeutics Inc  HARP.O 
for around $700 million, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday,
citing people familiar with the matter.
    Merck is discussing paying $23 per share for immuno-oncology
company Harpoon, Bloomberg said, representing a premium of 118%
to Harpoon's Friday closing price of $10.55. 
    A deal could be announced within days assuming talks don't
fall apart, the report added.
    Merck and Harpoon did not immediately respond to Reuters
requests for comment.
    Harpoon is developing drugs that harness the power of the
body's immune system to treat patients suffering from cancer and
other diseases. It reported positive data for its lung cancer
treatment in early-to-mid stage trial in October.

 (Reporting by Chandni Shah in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu
Sahu)
 ((Chandni.shah@thomsonreuters.com;))