{"entity":{"id":"arqule","kind":"company","name":"ArQule","aka":["ArQule, Inc."],"tldr":"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.","asOf":"2026-11-04","links":[{"label":"Merck to acquire ArQule (9 December 2019)","url":"https://www.merck.com/news/merck-to-acquire-arqule-advancing-leadership-in-oncology/"},{"label":"Merck completes acquisition (SEC exhibit, 16 January 2020)","url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/310158/000114036120000884/ex99_a5a.htm"},{"label":"Atlas Venture portfolio entry","url":"https://atlasventure.com/portfolio/"}],"tags":[],"related":[],"cancers":["cll","richter-transformation-cll","intrahepatic-cholangiocarcinoma"],"sections":["targeted-therapy"],"technologies":["kinase-inhibitors"],"targets":["btk"],"drugs":["nemtabrutinib"],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":["nct03162536"],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"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."],"hq":"Burlington, MA","country":"US","companyType":"biotech","stage":"acquired","investors":["atlas-venture"],"funding":[],"acquiredBy":"merck"},"route":"/companies/arqule/","neighbours":{"cancer":[{"id":"cll","kind":"cancer","name":"Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia","route":"/cancers/cll/"},{"id":"intrahepatic-cholangiocarcinoma","kind":"cancer","name":"Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma","route":"/cancers/intrahepatic-cholangiocarcinoma/"},{"id":"richter-transformation-cll","kind":"cancer","name":"Richter transformation of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia","route":"/cancers/richter-transformation-cll/"}],"section":[{"id":"targeted-therapy","kind":"section","name":"Targeted Therapy","route":"/fronts/targeted-therapy/"}],"technology":[{"id":"kinase-inhibitors","kind":"technology","name":"Small-molecule kinase inhibitors","route":"/technologies/kinase-inhibitors/"}],"target":[{"id":"btk","kind":"target","name":"BTK (Bruton tyrosine kinase)","route":"/targets/btk/"}],"drug":[{"id":"nemtabrutinib","kind":"drug","name":"Nemtabrutinib","route":"/drugs/nemtabrutinib/"}],"trial":[{"id":"nct03162536","kind":"trial","name":"A Study of Nemtabrutinib (MK-1026) in Participants With Relapsed or Refractory Hematologic Malignancies (ARQ 531-101/MK-1026-001)","route":"/trials/nct03162536/"}],"company":[{"id":"atlas-venture","kind":"company","name":"Atlas Venture","route":"/companies/atlas-venture/"},{"id":"merck","kind":"company","name":"Merck & Co. (MSD)","route":"/companies/merck/"}]}}