Merck, Daiichi Sankyo Add Merck's MK-6070 to Collaboration

By Colin Kellaher

Merck & Co. and Daiichi Sankyo are expanding their global collaboration to include the key drug candidate from Merck's recent purchase of Harpoon Therapeutics.

The companies on Tuesday said they plan to jointly develop and commercialize MK-6070, a T-cell engager currently being evaluated in a phase 1/2 clinical trial in certain patients with advanced cancers.

Merck and Daiichi Sankyo last year agreed to jointly develop and commercialize a trio of antibody-drug conjugates in a deal worth up to $22 billion.

The companies on Tuesday said Merck will receive an upfront cash payment of $170 million with the addition of MK-6070 to the collaboration and has also satisfied a contingent quid obligation from the original agreement.

Merck, based in Rahway, N.J., will maintain exclusive rights to MK-6070 in Japan and will be solely responsible for manufacturing and supply for the drug.

Write to Colin Kellaher at colin.kellaher@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 06, 2024 08:00 ET (12:00 GMT)

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