• Deal Value: ~$9.2 billion in cash
• Price per Share: $221.50 (108.9% premium over Cidara’s last close of $105.99)
• Market Reaction: Cidara shares jumped to $216.05 in premarket trading

Strategic Rationale

• Revenue Diversification: Reduces dependence on Keytruda as its patents near expiration later this decade
• Pipeline Expansion:
  • Merck has nearly tripled its late-stage pipeline since 2021
  • Recent acquisitions:
    • Acceleron (2021): $11.5B, gained Winrevair for pulmonary arterial hypertension
    • Verona Pharma (July 2025): $10B, gained Ohtuvayre for COPD

About Cidara & CD388

• Drug: CD388, a long-acting antiviral
• Goal: Single-dose, universal flu prevention
• Target Population: High-risk individuals, including immunocompromised patients
• Mechanism: Drug-Fc conjugate linking a drug to a human antibody fragment
• Clinical Stage: Late-stage trials

Merck aims to strengthen its infectious disease portfolio and capture a potential breakthrough in flu prevention while continuing its strategy of expanding late-stage assets.