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Genmab ( GMAB ) to pay $97 per Merus share, a 41% premium

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Transaction recommended by both boards

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Biotech Merus develops head-and-neck cancer drug

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Genmab ( GMAB ) eyes growth well into the next decade

(Adds CEO quotes, share price, timing of potential drug launch

in paragraphs 2, 3-5)

OSLO, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Denmark's Genmab ( GMAB ) has

agreed to acquire Merus NV ( MRUS ), a Nasdaq-listed

Dutch biotech firm developing a head-and-neck cancer drug, for

$8 billion in cash, the two companies said in a statement on

Monday.

Genmab ( GMAB ) will pay $97 per share for Merus, the companies said,

a 41% premium over Friday's closing price in New York trade.

Merus is currently running two Phase 3 trials on the

petosemtamab drug for head-and-neck cancer, with interim

readouts of one or both trials anticipated in 2026 and potential

market launch the following year, they said.

"It has the potential to significantly accelerate our

evolution into a global biotechnology leader by providing

durable growth for the company well into the next decade,"

Genmab ( GMAB ) CEO Jan van de Winkel said in the statement.

"With our proven track record of success, both in

clinical development and in commercialisation, we are confident

that we will be able to unlock the promise of petosemtamab."

The deal would add the treatment to Genmab's ( GMAB ) late-stage

pipeline of drug candidates, aligning with the Danish group's

expertise in antibody therapy development and commercialisation

in oncology, the companies said.

"Following the closing of the transaction, Genmab ( GMAB ) will have

four proprietary programs expected to drive multiple new drug

launches by 2027," the companies said in the statement.

The planned transaction was unanimously approved by the

boards of directors of both companies, the groups said.