Merck has acquired a potential drug in the emerging weight loss market for up to 2 billion dollars.
Merck announced on Wednesday that under the terms of the agreement, the company will obtain global exclusive rights for the development, production, and commercialization of HS-10535 from Chinese pharmaceutical company HANSOH PHARMA, which is an experimental oral drug targeting GLP-1 receptors.
Merck will pay HANSOH PHARMA an upfront payment of 0.112 billion dollars and may additionally pay milestone payments of 1.9 billion dollars.
This news led to a decline of 11% and 13% for two biotechnology companies developing weight loss drugs, Viking Therapeutics Inc. and Structure Therapeutics Inc., respectively, during early trading in New York on Wednesday, as investors speculated that the potential deal with Merck was no longer in existence. Merck's stock price remained stable.