Particle.news
Download on the App Store
10 ARTICLES
·
last wk.

Merck to Acquire Verona Pharma in $10 Billion Deal for Ohtuvayre COPD Therapy

The move positions Merck to integrate the fast-growing Ohtuvayre COPD therapy into its pipeline to help offset looming Keytruda revenue losses.

FILE - The logo for Merck appears above a trading post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
U.S. flag and medicines are seen in this illustration taken, June 27, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
Image
Verona Pharma is a respiratory drugs company that was created out of an academic research programme

Overview

  • Merck agreed to buy UK-based Verona Pharma for about $10 billion at $107 per share, reflecting a 23% premium on its previous closing price.
  • Verona’s U.S.-listed shares jumped roughly 21% after the announcement, and the deal is set to close in the fourth quarter of 2025.
  • Ohtuvayre secured FDA approval in June 2024 as the first novel inhaled COPD treatment in over 20 years and generated $71.3 million in Q1 2025 sales with 95% sequential growth.
  • This acquisition is Merck’s largest since its 2023 purchase of Prometheus Biosciences and underscores its plan to diversify beyond Keytruda ahead of that drug’s patent expiration.
  • Analysts forecast Ohtuvayre could achieve more than $4 billion in peak annual sales, strengthening Merck’s lung-disease portfolio and long-term revenue outlook.