Merck to Buy Imago for $1.35 Billion to Gain Marrow Drugs

  • Imago’s experimental bomedemstat is in mid-stage trials
  • Merck to pay $36 a share; Imago doubles from Friday closing
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Merck & Co. agreed to purchase Imago BioSciences Inc. to gain therapies for bone marrow conditions that lead to overproduction of blood cells, including one drug in mid-stage trials.

Merck will pay $36 a share in cash for South San Francisco-based Imago for a total value of about $1.35 billion. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of next year, the companies said Monday in a statementBloomberg Terminal. Imago’s shares closed at $17.40 Friday and more than doubled to $35.75 after Monday’s New York market opening. Merck shares were little changed.