Merck to buy immunotherapy company for $300m

US-based Merck & Co has announced plans to acquire immunotherapy company Immune Design for $300 million, in a bid to strengthen its capabilities in vaccine development.

Announced on Thursday, February 21, the deal will give Merck (known as MSD outside of the US and Canada) access to Immune Design’s drug-development platforms GLAAS and ZVex.

Both of the technologies are engineered to “activate the immune system's natural ability to generate and/or expand antigen-specific cytotoxic immune cells to fight cancer and other chronic diseases”, said a press release from Merck.

Immune Design, a late-stage immunotherapy company, uses next-generation in vivo approaches to enable the body's immune system to fight disease, according to Merck.

The acquisition is expected to bolster Merck’s capabilities in vaccine development for infectious diseases and cancer.

Seattle-based Immune Design is currently developing a peanut allergy vaccine with Sanofi and a vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus (which causes respiratory tract infections) with AstraZeneca’s MedImmune division.

Roger Perlmutter, president of Merck Research Laboratories, said: “Scientists at Immune Design have established a unique portfolio of approaches to cancer immunisation and adjuvant systems designed to enhance the ability of a vaccine to protect against infection, which could meaningfully improve vaccine development.”

An unnamed Merck subsidiary will make an initial tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares of Immune Design for $5.85 per share.

Carlos Paya, president and CEO of Immune Design, added: “We believe this agreement creates shareholder value by positioning our technologies and capabilities for long-term success with a leading, research-driven biopharmaceutical company.”

The transaction is expected to be closed in the second quarter of 2019.

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