Merck and Kelun-Biotech Announce Exclusive License and Collaboration Agreement for Seven Investigational Antibody-drug Conjugate Candidates for the Treatment of Cancer
December 22 2022 - 6:45AM
Business Wire
Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside of the United States and
Canada, and Kelun-Biotech (a holding subsidiary of Sichuan Kelun
Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd), a clinical-stage biotech company focused
on biologic and small molecule discovery and development, today
announced that the companies have entered into an exclusive license
and collaboration agreement to develop seven investigational
preclinical antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) for the treatment of
cancer.
“Advances in ADC technologies are yielding a new generation of
candidates designed to more precisely target and deliver potent
anticancer agents to the tumor site,” said Dr. Dean Y. Li,
president, Merck Research Laboratories. “We continue to augment our
oncology pipeline and look forward to working with the
Kelun-Biotech team to advance these candidates to the patients that
need them.”
Under the agreement, Kelun-Biotech has granted Merck exclusive
global licenses to research, develop, manufacture and commercialize
multiple investigational preclinical ADC therapies and exclusive
options to obtain additional licenses to ADC candidates.
Kelun-Biotech retains the right to research, develop, manufacture
and commercialize certain licensed and option ADCs for mainland
China, Hong Kong and Macau.
“The further expansion of our collaboration with Merck provides
a strong endorsement for our technology from a leader in the
development of cancer treatments,” said Dr. Junyou Ge, chief
executive officer of Kelun-Biotech. “We are grateful for our
partnership with the Merck scientists.”
Kelun-Biotech will receive an upfront payment of $175 million
from Merck. Kelun-Biotech is also eligible to receive future
development, regulatory and sales milestone payments totaling up to
$9.3 billion, if Kelun-Biotech does not retain mainland China, Hong
Kong and Macau rights for the option ADCs and all candidates
achieve regulatory approval, plus tiered royalties on net sales for
any commercialized ADC product. Merck also intends to make an
equity investment in Kelun-Biotech. The transaction is subject to
customary closing conditions including regulatory approval under
the Hart-Scott Rodino (HSR) Act and approvals by the shareholders
of Kelun-Biotech and Sichuan Kelun Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
This announcement follows previously disclosed research
collaboration and licensing agreements for two ADC candidates
including MK-2870 (also known as SKB-264), an investigational TROP2
targeting ADC currently being evaluated in late-stage clinical
trials.
Merck’s focus on cancer Our goal is to translate
breakthrough science into innovative oncology medicines to help
people with cancer worldwide. At Merck, the potential to bring new
hope to people with cancer drives our purpose and supporting
accessibility to our cancer medicines is our commitment. As part of
our focus on cancer, Merck is committed to exploring the potential
of immuno-oncology with one of the largest development programs in
the industry across more than 30 tumor types. We also continue to
strengthen our portfolio through strategic acquisitions and are
prioritizing the development of several promising oncology
candidates with the potential to improve the treatment of advanced
cancers. For more information about our oncology clinical trials,
visit www.merck.com/clinicaltrials.
About Merck At Merck, known as MSD outside of the United
States and Canada, we are unified around our purpose: We use the
power of leading-edge science to save and improve lives around the
world. For more than 130 years, we have brought hope to humanity
through the development of important medicines and vaccines. We
aspire to be the premier research-intensive biopharmaceutical
company in the world – and today, we are at the forefront of
research to deliver innovative health solutions that advance the
prevention and treatment of diseases in people and animals. We
foster a diverse and inclusive global workforce and operate
responsibly every day to enable a safe, sustainable and healthy
future for all people and communities. For more information, visit
www.merck.com and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram,
YouTube and LinkedIn.
About Kelun-Biotech Kelun Biotech is a clinical-stage
biotech company established in 2016, a holding subsidiary of
Sichuan Kelun Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd, engaged in biologic
therapeutics as well as small molecule discovery and development.
The company focuses on unmet medical needs such as oncology and
autoimmune conditions and strives to be a leader in novel
therapeutic discovery and development. Since its inception,
Kelun-Biotech has established multi-modal drug discovery platforms
based on global standards and made important development
breakthroughs in antibody-drug conjugation, immuno-oncology,
bispecific antibody and novel small molecule targeting and
designs.
Kelun-Biotech’s current pipeline includes 33 therapeutic
programs for the treatment of cancers, autoimmune conditions,
infectious diseases, and metabolic syndromes. Fourteen programs are
in clinical development in China, two of which have entered into
clinical development in the US. Most notably, Kelun-Biotech has
built out a proprietary ADC platform which is protected by a
complex patent portfolio. Our comprehensive ADC capabilities range
from novel target discovery, payload screening, linker design, as
well as GMP manufacturing. As of today, Kelun-Biotech is advancing
over 10 novel ADC programs in varying stages of development.
For additional information, please contact klbio_bd@kelun.com
(China) or bd@kluspharma.com (US).
Forward-Looking Statement of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway,
N.J., USA This news release of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway,
N.J., USA (the “company”) includes “forward-looking statements”
within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S.
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements
are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the
company’s management and are subject to significant risks and
uncertainties. There can be no guarantees with respect to pipeline
candidates that the candidates will receive the necessary
regulatory approvals or that they will prove to be commercially
successful. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or risks or
uncertainties materialize, actual results may differ materially
from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Risks and
uncertainties include but are not limited to, general industry
conditions and competition; general economic factors, including
interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; the impact
of the global outbreak of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19); the
impact of pharmaceutical industry regulation and health care
legislation in the United States and internationally; global trends
toward health care cost containment; technological advances, new
products and patents attained by competitors; challenges inherent
in new product development, including obtaining regulatory
approval; the company’s ability to accurately predict future market
conditions; manufacturing difficulties or delays; financial
instability of international economies and sovereign risk;
dependence on the effectiveness of the company’s patents and other
protections for innovative products; and the exposure to
litigation, including patent litigation, and/or regulatory actions.
The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any
forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise. Additional factors that could cause
results to differ materially from those described in the
forward-looking statements can be found in the company’s Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 and the
company’s other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC) available at the SEC’s Internet site (www.sec.gov).
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221222005122/en/
Media Contacts:
Julie Cunningham (617) 519-6264
Justine Moore (908) 740-6449
Investor Contacts:
Peter Dannenbaum (908) 740-1037
Damini Chokshi (908) 740-1807
Merck (NYSE:MRK)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Merck (NYSE:MRK)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024