Shares of Merck & Co. Inc. MRK, +0.07% surged 3.1% in premarket trading Monday, after the drug maker announced a deal to buy clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company OncoImmune for an upfront payment of $425 million in cash. OncoImmune shareholders will also be eligible to receive payments based on sales payments contingent the achievement of regulatory milestones. OncoImmune recently announced positive findings from an interim analysis of a Phase 3 study of CD24Fc for the treatment of severe and critical COVID-19. The acquisition is expected to close before the end of the year. “Recent clinical investigations support the view that CD24Fc may provide benefit beyond standard of care therapy for COVID-19 patients requiring oxygen support, and hence will represent an important addition to the Merck pipeline of investigational medicines and vaccines designed to address the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Dr. Roger Perlmutter, president of Merck Research Laboratories. Merck’s stock has lost 11.5% year to date through Friday, while the SPDR Health Care Select Sector ETF XLV, -0.22% has gained 6.8% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.74% has edged up 2.5%.
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