Merck to Acquire Tilos Therapeutics
June 10 2019 - 6:45AM
Business Wire
Merck Gains Portfolio of Investigational
Antibodies Modulating TGFβ
Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and
Canada, today announced that it has entered into a definitive
agreement to acquire Tilos Therapeutics, a privately held
biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutics targeting the
latent TGFβ complex for the treatment of cancer, fibrosis and
autoimmune diseases.
“At Merck we continue to enhance our robust pipeline through
active execution of our business development strategy," said Dr.
Dean Li, senior vice president, discovery and translational
medicine, Merck Research Laboratories. “Tilos has developed a
compelling portfolio of candidates that employ a novel approach to
modulating the potent signaling molecule TGFβ by binding to
latency-associated peptide, with potential applications across a
range of disease indications.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Merck, through a subsidiary,
will acquire all outstanding shares of Tilos for total potential
consideration of up to $773 million, including an upfront payment
as well as contingent milestone payments.
“We are proud that the Tilos team has advanced the
discoveries of our scientific founders by developing a
portfolio of anti-LAP antibodies designed to realize the full
potential of TGFβ-modulating therapeutics,” said Dr. Barbara Fox,
CEO, Tilos. “This agreement with Merck, an industry leader in
biopharmaceutical research and development, provides
meaningful validation for our therapeutic approach and best
positions our pipeline for broad clinical and commercial
success.”
Tilos was founded by Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund and
Partners Innovation Fund, based on discoveries by the laboratory of
Dr. Howard Weiner at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard
Medical School. Additional investment was provided by ShangPharma
Innovation Fund.
About TGFβ and LAP
TGFβ is a potent cytokine believed to play an important role in
the development of cancer and fibrotic diseases. TGFβ is
secreted as a complex with the protein, latency-associated peptide
(LAP). LAP forms a cage around TGFβ, holding the cytokine in an
inactive state until it is deployed. Evidence has shown that
anti-LAP antibodies block the release of TGFβ from the TGFβ-LAP
complex with the potential to provide a novel therapeutic mechanism
to reduce TGFβ activity.
About Merck
For more than a century, Merck, a leading global
biopharmaceutical company known as MSD outside of the United States
and Canada, has been inventing for life, bringing forward medicines
and vaccines for many of the world’s most challenging diseases.
Through our prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies
and animal health products, we work with customers and operate in
more than 140 countries to deliver innovative health solutions. We
also demonstrate our commitment to increasing access to health care
through far-reaching policies, programs and partnerships. Today,
Merck continues to be at the forefront of research to advance the
prevention and treatment of diseases that threaten people and
communities around the world - including cancer, cardio-metabolic
diseases, emerging animal diseases, Alzheimer’s disease and
infectious diseases including HIV and Ebola. For more information,
visit www.merck.com and connect with us on Twitter,
Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.
Forward-Looking Statement of Merck & Co., Inc.,
Kenilworth, N.J., USA
This news release of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, 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 products that
the products 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 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 2018
Annual Report on Form 10-K and the company’s other filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) available at the SEC’s
Internet site (www.sec.gov).
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Media:Pamela Eisele(267) 305-3558Ian McConnell(908)
740-1921Investors:Teri Loxam(908) 740-1986Michael DeCarbo(908)
740-1807
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