Merck KGaA Acquires Silence Therapeutics for $1.3B to Advance Blood Cancer Drug
German pharmaceutical giant Merck KGaA has agreed to acquire British biotech Silence Therapeutics in an all-cash deal valued at $1.3 billion. The acquisition centers on Silence’s lead candidate, divesiran, a short interfering RNA therapy targeting polycythemia vera, a rare blood cancer. Merck will pay $20 per American depositary share, with each share representing three ordinary shares of Silence. The deal follows strong phase 2 results for divesiran, which showed an 88% response rate in patients, positioning it as a potential competitor to Takeda’s recently approved Mimrylo. Silence’s other pipeline assets, including zerlasiran for cardiovascular disease and SLN312 for dyslipidemia, will also transfer to Merck, though previous partnerships for these drugs had recently ended.