Stamford-based SpringWorks Therapeutics, a commercial-stage biotech company developing treatments for rare diseases and cancer, is in “advanced talks” to be acquired by Germany’s Merck, according to Reuters.
SpringWorks, which went public in 2019, is valued at about $4 billion, Reuters said.
In November 2023, SpringWorks received the first Food and Drug Administration approval for a drug to treat desmoid tumors, which are dense, soft-tissue tumors.
The company is currently seeking approval for another drug to treat neurofibromatosis type 1, a rare genetic condition that causes tumors to grow aggressively along peripheral nerves.
SpringWorks expects to have two products on the market by 2025.
Investors responded positively to the news.
SpringWorks’ shares jumped 34% on Monday and reached their highest level since April 2022.
Merck, which owns about 250 companies and has more than 60,000 employees, said late Monday that no legally binding agreement had been reached, and there was no certainty that any transaction would materialize.
Reuters cited three sources who said the deal could be signed in the coming weeks.
The acquisition of SpingWorks would be one of the biggest deals for Merck in recent years and would “boost its efforts to build out its cancer treatment pipeline,” according to Reuters.
Merck’s U.S. subsidiary, Merck & Co., acquired Yale-spinout Modifi Biosciences, a New Haven startup that focuses on developing cancer therapies, in a $1.3 billion deal in October.
On Tuesday morning, SpringWorks’ shares were trading at about $52, down 3.4% from Monday.
As of Dec. 31, 2023, SpringWorks had 305 full-time employees, according to its annual report. The company is headquartered at 100 Washington Blvd., in Stamford.
