Merck & Co. said Jan. 7 that the pharmaceutical giant has officially completed its $9.2 billion acquisition of Cidara Therapeutics Inc.
By purchasing the San Diego-based company, Merck has added an experimental flu-prevention drug to its portfolio.
“The acquisition of Cidara strengthens and complements our expanding respiratory portfolio and exemplifies our business development strategy of investing where compelling science and value meet,” said Robert M. Davis, chairman and chief executive officer of Merck. “CD388, a potentially first-in-class, long-acting antiviral with strain-agnostic properties, underscores that approach. We look forward to building on Cidara’s progress and further evaluating the potential of this candidate for the prevention of symptomatic influenza in certain individuals at high risk of complications.”
Merck completed the cash offer via a subsidiary at a purchase price of $221.50 per share of common stock of Cidara. The tender offer involved 27,149,333 shares of common stock, representing about 85.96% of the total number of Cidara’s issued and outstanding shares of common stock.
Merck said the acquisition is expected to be accounted for as an asset acquisition, resulting in a charge that will increase 2026 research and development expenses by about $9.0 billion or approximately $3.65 per share, included in GAAP and non-GAAP results. Additionally, GAAP and non-GAAP EPS are expected to be negatively impacted by about 30 cents per share in the first 12 months, representing costs associated with advancing CD388 and costs of financing.
CD388 is an antiviral under development designed to prevent influenza in people at higher risk of complications. The treatment was previously granted Fast Track Designation by the FDA. It’s currently being evaluated in a Phase 3 study among adults and adolescents.
Merck said CD388 is not a vaccine, therefore its activity is not dependent on an immune response. Merck said CD388 has the potential to provide season-long protection against the flu.
Influenza is an acute respiratory infection caused predominantly by influenza viruses A and B.
An estimated one billion people worldwide are infected by seasonal influenza each year. Of the one billion, three to five million have severe cases of flu. Complications include pneumonia, exacerbation of chronic conditions, sepsis, myocarditis, encephalitis and death in the most severe cases. Globally, an estimated 290,000 to 650,000 deaths occur because of flu each year with 6,300 to 52,000 fatalities in the U.S.
According to the website medicalexpress.com, Johnson & Johnson was interested in CD388, and it helped fund the first clinical trials of CD388. But later in 2023, the New Brunswick company announced that it would divest from all infectious-disease research around the globe.
Merck has been seeking to diversify beyond its blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda, whose patent protection ends in 2028. Last October, Merck announced it had completed its $10 billion buyout of the British biopharmaceutical company Verona.
Merck shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange. They were up $1.20, or 1.11%, to $110.07 Wednesday morning and were trading near the top of their 52-week range. The company has a market cap of $275.09 billion.
