Shares in Acceleron have been grown by the third in the last month, and closed on Friday at almost $168, not far off its 52-week high of $174. Image Phil Taylor ...

After days of speculation, Merck & Co confirmed today that it has agreed to acquire Acceleron Pharma $1.5 billion, setting up what could be one of the largest biopharma acquisitions of 2021 so far.

Last Friday, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency approved Merck & Co Inc’s (NYSE:MRK) Winrevair (sotatercept) for adult patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).