Merck Spends $700M on Bispecific

Merck & Co. is taking on Amgen in the blood cancer business by making an upfront payment of $700 million. Merck will now compete with Amgen and AstraZeneca in the cancer market and Cullinan Therapeutics in the autoimmune illness market thanks to the agreement that grants the Big Pharma global access to Curon Biopharmaceutical’s CD3xCD19 bispecific.

By giving Curon the upfront payment and committing to contributing up to $600 million in milestones based on research and regulatory approval, Merck is joining the race. The pharmaceutical company received rights to the phase 1/2 candidate CN201 in exchange.

Merck intends to continue researching CN201 in B-cell cancers. AstraZeneca is also part of the clinic; in 2022, it paid $100 million in advance for the CD3xCD19 bispecific AZD0486. This year marks the start of AZD0486’s phase 2 study in NHL. Individuals are being recruited by AstraZeneca for early-phase NHL and ALL investigations.