Merck to Apply its Industry-Leading Vaccine
Development Capabilities to SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Program
Originated by Themis and Institut Pasteur
Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and
Canada, and Themis, a company focused on vaccines and
immune-modulation therapies for infectious diseases and cancer,
today announced that the companies have entered into a definitive
agreement under which Merck, through a subsidiary, will acquire
privately-held Themis.
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Themis has a broad pipeline of vaccine candidates and
immune-modulatory therapies developed using its innovative measles
virus vector platform based on a vector originally developed by
scientists at the Institut Pasteur, a world-leading European
vaccine research institute, and licensed exclusively to Themis for
select viral indications. In March, Themis joined a consortium
together with the Institut Pasteur and The Center for Vaccine
Research at the University of Pittsburgh, supported by funding from
the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), to
develop a vaccine candidate targeting SARS-CoV-2 for the prevention
of COVID-19.
“Building on the pioneering work of the Institut Pasteur, the
Themis team has established specialized expertise that complements
Merck’s own capabilities in the discovery, development,
manufacturing and global distribution of vaccines,” said Dr. Roger
M. Perlmutter, president, Merck Research Laboratories. “We are
eager to combine our strengths both to develop an effective
COVID-19 vaccine in the near term and to build a pandemic
preparedness capability directed toward emerging agents that pose a
future epidemic threat.”
The planned acquisition builds upon an ongoing collaboration
between the two companies to develop vaccine candidates using the
measles virus vector platform, and is expected to accelerate the
development of Themis’ COVID-19 vaccine candidate. The vaccine
candidate is in pre-clinical development, and clinical studies are
planned to start later in 2020.
Under terms of the agreement, Merck, through a subsidiary, will
acquire all outstanding shares of Themis in exchange for an
undisclosed cash payment. Upon completion of the deal Themis will
become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Merck.
“This acquisition by Merck, a global leader in vaccine
development, reflects Themis’ success in applying our versatile
immune-modulation platform that builds on the original discoveries
from the Institut Pasteur,” said Dr. Erich Tauber, chief executive
officer, Themis. “We are excited for the next phase of our
relationship with Merck and in the near-term look forward to
focusing resources toward the development and global scale-up of
our candidate SARS-CoV-2 vaccine.”
“I am delighted that the vaccine technology initially developed
at the Institut Pasteur, and enhanced in partnership with Themis,
will now be leveraged by Merck to develop candidate vaccines
designed to prevent and control emerging infectious diseases,
notably COVID-19. This is an exciting and impactful development for
global public health,” commented Prof. Stewart Cole, president of
Institut Pasteur.
Investments by CEPI were important to advancing the Themis
technology platform and associated programs. Merck looks forward to
continued collaboration with CEPI and other international
organizations as we work together toward global access to potential
SARS-CoV-2 vaccines.
Closing of the transaction is subject to the expiration or
earlier termination of the waiting period under the
Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, merger control
clearance in Austria, and other customary conditions. In connection
with the transaction, Institut Pasteur, CEPI and Merck have entered
into a memorandum of understanding that reflects the parties’
commitments to address the COVID-19 pandemic by developing,
manufacturing and distributing the vaccine on a global basis and
with pricing that makes the vaccine both available around the world
and accessible to those who need it, including low-income,
middle-income and high-income countries based on the medical need
when the vaccine may become available.
Merck is a global leader in infectious diseases and vaccines,
with a long history of researching, developing, manufacturing and
distributing vaccines for children, adolescents and adults. Merck
is committed to ensuring that any vaccines we develop for
SARS-CoV-2 will be accessible and affordable globally, and plans to
manufacture the vaccine at sites in the U.S. and Europe.
Measles Vector Platform
The measles vector platform is being evaluated across a wide
range of infectious disease and immunology indications. It uses a
modified measles vaccine virus as a vector and can be engineered to
express a wide range of antigens. The measles vector is designed to
provide a vehicle to deliver antigens to the immune system capable
of triggering a protective memory response. It has been
incorporated into vaccine development programs against infectious
diseases including SARS, Chikungunya, MERS, and Lassa fever.
Originally developed at the Institut Pasteur, the technology
platform was first licensed to Themis in 2010.
Merck’s response to coronavirus (COVID-19)
As a company dedicated to saving and improving lives, Merck
recognizes that we have a special responsibility to help. In
response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Merck is focused on protecting
the safety of its employees and their families, ensuring that our
supply of medicines and vaccines reaches our patients and
customers, contributing our scientific expertise to the development
of antiviral and vaccine approaches, and supporting health care
providers and our communities. We thank the many health care
providers and volunteers, including our own employees, who are
doing so much to help affected patients and communities. To learn
more, please visit www.merck.com/COVID-19.
About Themis
Themis is developing immunomodulation therapies for infectious
diseases and cancer. Through advanced understanding of immune
system mechanisms, the company has built a sophisticated and
versatile technology platform for the discovery, development and
production of vaccines as well as other immune system activation
approaches. Initially focused on preventing infectious diseases,
Themis has demonstrated the potential of its versatile platform
through the rapid and successful completion of Phase 2 and progress
towards Phase 3 clinical development for a vaccine against
Chikungunya, a debilitating disease with global outbreak potential.
By leveraging its platform knowledge, Themis is currently
approaching a rapid entry to Phase I trials for COVID-19. Funded to
date by leading global venture capital firms, Themis has also
gained prestigious non-dilutive funding for emerging infectious
disease indications. For more information, visit
http://www.themisbio.com.
About Merck
For more than 125 years, Merck, 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 in pursuit of our mission to save and improve
lives. We demonstrate our commitment to patients and population
health by increasing access to health care through far-reaching
policies, programs and partnerships. Today, Merck continues to be
at the forefront of research to prevent and treat diseases that
threaten people and animals – including cancer, infectious diseases
such as HIV and Ebola, and emerging animal diseases – as we aspire
to be the premier research-intensive biopharmaceutical company in
the world. 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 the recent 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 2019
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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Merck Media:
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Ian McConnell +1 (973) 901-5722
Themis Media & Investors
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Jacob Verghese +49 89 2388 7731
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