Merck has snagged Edinburgh-based IOmet for an undisclosed sum, adding a preclinical pipeline of therapies that target the IDO/TDO pathways that may help spur an immune system attack on cancer.
A leader in the checkpoint inhibition field with the pioneering Keytruda, Merck is gaining access to technology that promises to target enzymes that are often overexpressed in cancers, leading to tryptophan depletion and high tumor levels of the breakdown product, kynurenine, an imbalance that tamps down the immune response.
As a result, IDO/TDO are two pathways that have attracted considerable attention from pharma companies zeroing in on immunotherapy. Roche struck a deal with India’s Curadev last April, paying $25 million up front and offering $530 million in milestones for access to its IDO/TDO work. Roche is considered just one step behind Merck and Bristol-Myers Squibb ($BMY) with the PD-L1 checkpoint program for atezolizumab.
Incyte has already paired with Merck’s Keytruda–and other checkpoints–on its IDO1 drug epacadostat (INCB24360).
“The acquisition of IOmet is a further example of Merck’s commitment to fully realizing the potential of this rapidly evolving field through our existing innovative portfolio as well as the acquisition of promising immunotherapeutic candidates,” said Dr. Eric Rubin, vice president and therapeutic area head of oncology early-stage development at Merck Research Laboratories.
By John Carroll
Source: Fierce Biotech
Avivi joins Bayer fresh off a yearlong stint as chief marketing officer of Advance Auto Parts, which followed about three years spent as marketing chief of another auto parts company, Tenneco. Rounding out her nearly 30-year career in marketing are leadership roles at consumer goods giants Kimberly-Clark and Procter & Gamble.
Air Liquide S.A. (Paris) is continuing its development with the acquisition of Homecare activities in Belgium and the Netherlands. The two entities acquired in Belgium and the Netherlands support 10,000 patients living with respiratory insufficiency, sleep apnea syndrome or requiring infusion or nutrition treatments.
US-based Vertex Pharmaceuticals has agreed to pay approximately $4.9 billion in cash to acquire Alpine Immune Sciences, a compatriot biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing innovative, protein-based immunotherapies.
