# ArQule

Source: https://onco.cc/companies/arqule/  
OnCo record `arqule` (Company). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

ArQule made pill-form drugs that block kinases, enzymes that drive cancer cell growth. Merck bought it in 2020, mainly for nemtabrutinib (then ARQ 531), a drug for blood cancers such as chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.

## Summary

ArQule was a Nasdaq-listed (ARQL) biopharmaceutical company focused on kinase inhibitor discovery and development for cancer and rare diseases. Merck agreed on 9 December 2019 to acquire it for $20 a share in cash, an equity value of about $2.7 billion, and completed the acquisition on 16 January 2020, when ArQule became a wholly owned Merck subsidiary. The lead candidate, ARQ 531 (now nemtabrutinib), is an oral reversible inhibitor of wild-type and C481S-mutant BTK, then in Phase 2 for B-cell malignancies, with early activity in relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and Richter's transformation. The pipeline also included miransertib (ARQ 092), an AKT inhibitor in Proteus syndrome and PIK3CA-related overgrowth; ARQ 751, an AKT inhibitor in Phase 1 for solid tumours with AKT1 and PI3K mutations; and derazantinib, an FGFR-family inhibitor in a registrational trial for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma with Basilea and Sinovant. Atlas Venture lists ArQule as making cancer drugs using combinatorial chemistry.

## Fields

- Kind: Company
- Last checked: 2026-11-04
- Also known as: ArQule, Inc.
- HQ: Burlington, MA
- Type: biotech

## Notes

- Atlas's portfolio text gives '(1996)' beside the Nasdaq listing; this is not recorded as a founding year because the source does not say what the year marks.
- The existing OnCo drug record nemtabrutinib came from ArQule (ARQ 531) and can link here.
- Trial nct03162536 (nemtabrutinib, other names ARQ 531 and MK-1026 on ClinicalTrials.gov, Phase 1/2) lists 'ArQule, Inc., a subsidiary of Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC' as lead sponsor on ClinicalTrials.gov.
- Derazantinib targets the FGFR family; no single target id set.

## Sources

- Merck to acquire ArQule (9 December 2019): https://www.merck.com/news/merck-to-acquire-arqule-advancing-leadership-in-oncology/
- Merck completes acquisition (SEC exhibit, 16 January 2020): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/310158/000114036120000884/ex99_a5a.htm
- Atlas Venture portfolio entry: https://atlasventure.com/portfolio/

## Connected records

- cancers: [Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia](https://onco.cc/cancers/cll/), [Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/intrahepatic-cholangiocarcinoma/), [Richter transformation of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia](https://onco.cc/cancers/richter-transformation-cll/)
- fronts: [Targeted Therapy](https://onco.cc/fronts/targeted-therapy/)
- technologies: [Small-molecule kinase inhibitors](https://onco.cc/technologies/kinase-inhibitors/)
- targets: [BTK (Bruton tyrosine kinase)](https://onco.cc/targets/btk/)
- drugs: [Nemtabrutinib](https://onco.cc/drugs/nemtabrutinib/)
- trials: [A Study of Nemtabrutinib (MK-1026) in Participants With Relapsed or Refractory Hematologic Malignancies (ARQ 531-101/MK-1026-001)](https://onco.cc/trials/nct03162536/)
- companies: [Atlas Venture](https://onco.cc/companies/atlas-venture/), [Merck & Co. (MSD)](https://onco.cc/companies/merck/)

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