Merck (known as MSD outside the US and Canada) has entered into a funding agreement with Blackstone Life Sciences to support the clinical development of its investigational antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), sacituzumab tirumotecan (sac-TMT).
Sac-TMT is designed to target trophoblast cell-surface antigen 2 (TROP2), a protein commonly expressed on the surface of various cancer cells. Merck is currently conducting several phase 3 clinical trials evaluating the efficacy of sac-TMT in six tumour types, including breast, endometrial and lung cancers.
Under the terms of the agreement, Blackstone will provide Merck with $700m to fund part of the costs associated with ongoing clinical research. In return, Blackstone will be eligible to receive low-to-mid single-digit royalties on future net sales of sac-TMT across all approved indications and Merck’s global marketing territories.
The agreement is contingent on regulatory approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the first-line treatment of triple-negative breast cancer, based on results from the TROFUSE-011 clinical trial.
“This agreement positions MSD to harness the potential of sac-TMT, a promising ADC candidate targeting TROP2, while we continue to advance our broad and expansive pipeline,” said Caroline Litchfield, chief financial officer at Merck.
“We are making important investments to drive patient impact and revenue growth, and to sustain our business for the future while remaining disciplined towards maintaining an appropriate financial profile.”
Sac-TMT was originally developed by Kelun-Biotech, a subsidiary of Kelun Pharmaceutical, a Chinese biotech company focused on developing biological and small-molecule therapies. Under an existing collaboration agreement, MSD holds exclusive rights to develop, manufacture and commercialise sac-TMT outside mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
Merck confirmed that the new funding arrangement with Blackstone will not affect its existing partnership with Kelun-Biotech, and that Blackstone will not acquire any rights to sac-TMT as part of the transaction