Merck, the pharmaceutical giant with around 10,000 employees in Montgomery County, has acquired Pandion Therapeutics for $1.85 billion, writes Ben Adams for Fierce Biotech.

Merck first showed interest in the biotechnology company in 2018 and made an offer in January 2020. However, the company firmly said no to $65 million upfront along with nearly half a billion dollars in biobucks.

Pandion went on to IPO, taking in $135 million last summer to fund the development of its pipeline headlined by a PT-101, a clinical-phase drug aimed at treating autoimmune diseases.

Merck then upped its interest further, continuing discussions with the biotech company.

“During these discussions, representatives of Parent [Merck] reiterated Parent’s strong interest in PT-101 and desire to explore a partnership in the near term and view clinical data for PT-101 when available,” states the SEC filing.

In October, Merck offered to increase its initial offer from $65 million to $100 million but Pandion declined again.

Merck changed gears in 2020, offering first $40 then $50 a share to buy out the company. Both times the answer was no. Finally, when the company raised the offer to $60 a share, they agreed on the deal.

Read more about the acquisition at Fierce Biotech by clicking here.