Merck acquires two research firms in a day

Yesterday Merck announced the acquisition of two research companies: Abmaxis and GlycoFi.

Abmaxis, bought for $80 million (42.75 million pounds), specialises in the research and use of monoclonal antibodies. Monoclonal antibodies are cloned antibodies which can bind to nearly any specified substance so it can be exposed and detected. If that substance was to be an antigen associated with cancerous cells, specific monoclonal antibodies could bind to those cells and expose them, so the body’s immune system can recognise and attack those cancerous cells, in theory.

GlycoFi also researches monoclonal antibodies and more specifically researches the best way of making them, such as using yeast. Merck says the total cash transaction for GlycoFi will amount to $400 million, to be completed in the second quarter of 2006.

Peter S. Kim, president of Merck Research Laboratories, said: “Our acquisition of Abmaxis provides Merck with the opportunity to optimize and humanize antibodies, as well as to discover new antibodies.”

He added: “This, coupled with Merck’s own industry-leading capabilities in yeast expression technology and our acquisition of GlycoFi and its complementary technologies, positions us to become a significant player in the important and growing field of biologic drugs.”

“GlycoFi’s technology combined with Merck’s yeast expression capabilities could lead to a more effective platform for the manufacture of therapeutic proteins and vaccines,” concluded Dr Kim.

Monoclonal antibody research has continued for several years. Among the problems of producing monoclonal antibodies in research environments is that they come from rats, whose antibodies are not wholly compatible with the human immune system. To induce human antibodies from a human would involve deliberately making them ill, which is not ethical. DNA recombinant technology is one way scientists are trying to circumvent the differences between mouse and human antibodies.

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