Merck To Acquire EyeBio; Deal Valued Up To $3 Bln

(RTTNews) - Merck (MRK) and Eyebiotech, a privately held ophthalmology-focused biotechnology company, announced they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Merck, through a subsidiary, will acquire all outstanding shares of EyeBio for up to $3 billion, including an upfront payment of $1.3 billion in cash and a further potential $1.7 billion in developmental, regulatory and commercial milestone payments.

Merck expects to record a charge of approximately $1.3 billion, or approximately $0.50 per share, that will be included in non-GAAP results in the quarter that the transaction closes. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2024.

EyeBio is developing a pipeline of clinical and preclinical candidates for the prevention and treatment of vision loss associated with retinal vascular leakage. The company's lead candidate, Restoret, is an investigational, potentially first-in-class tetravalent, tri-specific antibody. Restoret is anticipated to advance into a pivotal Phase 2b/3 trial to investigate the treatment of patients with DME in the second half of 2024.

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