Biotech Values

[DewDiligence]

MRK acquires—(private)—Peloton Therapeutics for $1.05B up-front and $1.15B in contingent milestones:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/merck-acquire-peloton-therapeutics-bolstering-104500062.html

Merck…and Peloton Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that the companies have entered into a definitive agreement under which Merck…will acquire privately held Peloton, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel small molecule therapeutic candidates targeting hypoxia-inducible factor-2a (HIF-2a) for the treatment of patients with cancer and other non-oncology diseases. Peloton’s lead candidate is PT2977, a novel oral HIF-2a inhibitor in late-stage development for renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Peloton had already filed papers with the SEC to IPO at a price range generating a market cap of ~$750M, so MRK is paying a material premium, even without the contingent milestones.