Weeks after Pandion’s early clinical readout, Merck pays triple-digit premium in $1.9B takeout

An early clinical proof-of-mechanism readout this year helped trigger Merck’s buyout of Pandion for nearly $1.9 billion, giving the pharma a platform with which to modulate the immune system as well as a lead program headed into mid-stage studies in two large indications.

Merck & Co Inc. (NYSE:MRK) gains an immunomodulation platform to develop effector modules that can act systemically or be tethered to tissue-targeting constructs for increased localization...