Silence Agrees to Merck KGaA Takeover After Divesiran Data

The Tip Desk · November 12, 2026 · 2 min read

Cash reached $247.7 million after an August offering as the company booked a $12.4 million net loss in the third quarter.

Silence Therapeutics plc (SLN), a clinical-stage company developing siRNA therapies, said on October 19, 2026 that it had entered a definitive agreement to be acquired by Merck KGaA of Darmstadt, Germany, with the deal expected to close in the first quarter of 2027 subject to customary conditions.

The announcement followed positive topline results on August 10, 2026 from the Phase 2 SANRECO trial of divesiran, an investigational siRNA silencing TMPRSS6 in polycythemia vera. The company said the data supported a potentially best-in-class profile with once-every-three-month dosing. Those results were accepted for an oral presentation at the American Society of Hematology 2026 Annual Meeting, scheduled for December 12–15 in New Orleans.

For the three months ended September 30, 2026, Silence reported a net loss of $12.4 million, or $0.08 basic and diluted a share, compared with a net loss of $21.0 million, or $0.15 a share, a year earlier. Operating loss was $14.2 million. Revenue was zero, versus $159 thousand a year earlier, and gross profit was zero, versus $95 thousand.

Research and development expenses were $9.3 million, down from $20.5 million a year earlier. The company attributed the $11.2 million decrease mainly to zerlasiran Phase 3 readiness being completed in 2025 and to reduced personnel costs. General and administrative expenses were $4.9 million, compared with $5.8 million a year earlier; Silence said the $0.9 million decrease was mainly due to an effort to reduce administrative costs.

Cash and cash equivalents were $247.7 million as of September 30, 2026, including $201.3 million in gross proceeds from an upsized public offering announced on August 11, 2026. Weighted average shares outstanding were 165.6 million for the quarter, versus 141.7 million a year earlier. Total outstanding shares were 186,609,073 ordinary shares, including American Depositary Shares, as of September 30, 2026.

The company said the press release may be deemed solicitation material in respect of the proposed acquisition and that it intends to file a proxy statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Silence said actual results and the timing of events could differ from those anticipated, citing risks related to completing the transaction on the proposed terms or timeline, including regulatory and shareholder approvals, the sanction of the High Court of Justice of England and Wales, and other closing conditions.

In June 2026, Silence completed patient dosing in the Phase 2 SANRECO double-blind, placebo-controlled trial evaluating divesiran 6 mg/kg on Q6W and Q12W intervals in 48 phlebotomy-dependent PV patients, and presented Phase 1 SANRECO follow-up data at the European Hematology Association 2026 Annual Congress.

The company said the transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.