Merck strengthens immunotherapy expertise with $773m buy

US-based  Merck & Co has announced plans to buy  Tilos Therapeutics, its latest acquisition in the immunotherapy space.

The deal to acquire biopharmaceutical company Tilos for $773 million was  announced yesterday, June 10.

Tilos focuses on developing therapeutics targeting the latent TGFβ complex for the treatment of cancer, fibrosis and autoimmune diseases. TGFβ is a “potent cytokine” believed to play an important role in the development of cancer and fibrotic diseases, according to a release from Merck.

Founded by Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund and Partners Innovation Fund, Tilos is based on discoveries by the laboratory of Dr. Howard Weiner at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Dean Li, senior vice president, discovery and translational medicine, Merck Research Laboratories, said: “Tilos has developed a compelling portfolio of candidates that employ a novel approach to modulating the potent signalling molecule TGFβ by binding to latency-associated peptide, with potential applications across a range of disease indications.”

The acquisition is the latest in a series of deals that Merck has made in the immunotherapy and oncology spaces.

In the oncology space, last month, Merck  said it would acquire Peloton Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, for $1.05 billion.

In February this year, Merck  announced plans to acquire immunotherapy company Immune Design for $300 million, a move which will bolster Merck’s capabilities in vaccine development for infectious diseases and cancer.

One year before, Merck  revealed plans to strengthen its immuno-oncology expertise with a nearly $400 million acquisition of Australian drugmaker Viralytics.

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