Merck KGaA is taking a fourth option in its deal with bispecific immunotherapy biotech F-Star Therapeutics, which has attracted the eyes of a who’s who of Big Pharma.
The German pharma has already picked up three candidates from the F-Star collaboration, beginning in May 2019, then again in July 2020 and most recently in March 2021. Merck obviously likes what it sees in F-Star, which also counts Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca Bristol Myers Squibb and AbbVie as partners.
The latest Merck option will bring the total due to F-Star up to $765 million in milestone-based revenue payments, according to a Wednesday release from F-star.
The latest option adds another bispecific program to Merck's immune-oncology portfolio, and Merck will take over future development and commercialization costs. And besides milestones, the company will also pay royalties on future sales to F-star.
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Not everything that has come out of the Merck and F-star tie-up has made the cut, however. The two previously worked together on the LAG-3xPD-L1 bispecific FS118, which Merck ultimately opted out of, leaving the candidate as the biotech's lead in its wholly owned pipeline.
Merck is certainly in need of a pipeline boost after cutting ties with GlaxoSmithKline on a $4.2 billion partnership to develop bintrafusp alfa as a competitor to U.S.-based rival Merck & Co.’s Keytruda.
Bispecifics are a pretty good bet for Germany's Merck, as many Big Pharma peers have been dropping millions on deals to add new candidates in the class to their pipelines. J&J recently shipped off its latest offering, the multiple myeloma drug teclistamab, to the FDA for consideration.
BMS dropped $150 million upfront plus another $770 million for a deal with Immatics for a preclinical bispecific targeting solid tumors in December. Amgen is also a major player, but has had mixed results so far in the clinic but also a new strategy to improve on the dual-attack found with the bispecific by developing new multispecifics.