Merck has entered a definitive agreement to acquire Cidara Therapeutics, a biotechnology company developing drug-Fc conjugate (DFC) therapeutics, for $221.50 per share in cash, for a total transaction value of approximately $9.2 billion. This acquisition expands and complements Merck’s respiratory portfolio and pipeline. Cidara’s lead candidate, CD388, consists of a small molecule neuraminidase inhibitor stably conjugated to a proprietary Fc fragment of a human antibody designed to prevent in...