Merck’s $2.7B bid for ArQule is yet another example of Big Biopharma’s high regard for oral kinase inhibitors for treating cancer. ArQule’s lead drug is ARQ 531, an oral inhibitor of Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK).
Previous deals include Pfizer’s (PFE -0.1%) $10.4B takeout of Array BioPharma and its lineup of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), finalized in July, and Eli Lilly’s (LLY -0.2%) $8B acquisition of Loxo Oncology in February and its portfolio of RET, TRK and BTK inhibitor candidates and TRK inhibitor Vitrakvi (larotrectinib), approved in the U.S. in November 2018 for TRK fusion cancers.
AbbVie (ABBV -0.1%) bought Pharmacyclics for $21B in 2015 in order to secure the rights to BTK inhibitor Imbruvica (ibrutinib), sharing profits with Johnson & Johnson (JNJ +0.1%).
AstraZeneca (AZN +0.2%) acquired a majority stake in Acerta Pharma for $4B late 2015 for access to its kinase inhibitor lineup. Its first win was BTK inhibitor Calquence (acalabrutinib), approved in the U.S. in October 2017 for mantle cell lymphoma and last month for CLL.
Kinase inhibitor-related tickers: BeiGene (BGNE +0.6%), Principia Biopharma (PRNB +3.5%), Merck KGaA (OTCPK:MKGAY), TG Therapeutics (TGTX +30.3%), Aptose Biosciences (APTO +37.9%), Exelixis (EXEL -1%), Deciphera Pharmaceuticals (DCPH +3.8%), Curis (CRIS -0.6%), Pulmatrix (PULM +1.1%), Verastem (VSTM +8.3%), BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (BCRX +0.2%), Aclaris Therapeutics (ACRS +6.6%), IDEAYA Biosciences (IDYA +1.8%), Rigel Pharmaceuticals (RIGL +1.4%), Astellas Pharma (OTCPK:ALPMY), Blueprint Medicines (BPMC -7.4%), Seattle Genetics (SGEN -2.7%), Spectrum Pharmaceuticals (SPPI +0.3%), Puma Biotechnology (PBYI -1%), Galapagos NV (GLPG +1.6%)
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