07:24 AM EDT, 08/09/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Merck ( MRK ) said Friday it has agreed to acquire full global rights to CN201, an investigational clinical-stage bispecific antibody for the treatment of B-cell associated diseases, from Curon Biopharmaceutical.

Under the terms of the agreement, Merck ( MRK ) will pay $700 million upfront in cash and Curon will be eligible to receive up to $600 million in milestone payments.

The transaction is expected to close in Q3. Merck ( MRK ) said it expects to record a pre-tax charge of about $750 million, or about $0.28 per share, to be included in non-GAAP results in the quarter that the transaction closes.

Merck ( MRK ) shares were 0.3% higher in premarket trading.

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