Merck & Co. has completed its $1.85-billion acquisition of Pandion Therapeutics, a Watertown, Massachusetts-based company developing bispecific antibody therapeutics for autoimmune diseases. It also has separately agreed to acquire Alydia Health, a Menlo Park, California-based medical device company, for up to $240 million.

Merck had announced the acquisition of Pandion in February 2021. Pandion is advancing a pipeline of precision immune modulators. Its lead candidate, PT101, is an engineered IL-2 mutein fused to a protein backbone designed to selectively activate and expand regulatory T cells for treating ulcerative colitis and other autoimmune diseases. Earlier this year (2021), Pandion announced that PT101 had completed a Phase Ia clinical trial. The company’s pipeline also includes PD-1 agonists in development for numerous autoimmune diseases.

With the completion of the acquisition, Pandion became a wholly owned subsidiary of Merck.

Pending acquisition of Alydia Health

In a separate deal, Merck, through its pending spin-off company, Organon, has agreed to acquire Alydia Health, a medical-device company focused on preventing maternal morbidity and mortality caused by postpartum hemorrhage or abnormal postpartum uterine bleeding, for up to $240 million. Organon is the pending spin-off of Merck’s women’s health, legacy products, and biosimilars businesses.

The deal, subject to customary purchase price adjustments, includes $215 million upfront plus a $25 million contingent milestone payment, of which $50 million of the upfront payment will be paid prior to the spin-off of Organon, and $165 million will be paid by Organon upon the close of the acquisition. The remainder will be paid by Organon upon achievement of milestones.

Closing is subject to customary closing conditions and completion of the spin-off of Organon from Merck & Co., which is currently anticipated late in the second quarter of 2021.

Source: Merck & Co. (Pandion), Merck & Co. (Alydia), and Alydia Health