US-based pharmaceutical company Merck has acquired Modifi Biosciences, a biotechnology company focused on direct DNA modification-enabled cancer therapeutics, for up to $1.3bn
As per the terms of the agreement, Merck has acquired all outstanding shares of Modifi Biosciences for $30m in an upfront payment.
Modifi shareholders are also eligible to receive up to $1.3bn in potential milestone payments.
Through the acquisition, Merck gets access to Modifi’s experimental cancer therapies.
Merck Research Laboratories discovery oncology vice president David Weinstock said: “DNA repair defects are a frequent hallmark of tumour cells and a major cause of resistance to cancer therapy.
“The talented Modifi Biosciences team has developed an innovative approach that we believe has potential for treating some of the most refractory cancer types.”
Modifi is a biotechnology company established in 2021, as a spinout of Yale University.
The company has developed a novel class of small molecules that target cancer cells without expression of a key DNA repair protein, dubbed O6-methylguanine methyl transferase (MGMT).
The new class of small molecules, designed to be delivered orally, bypass conventional approaches that indirectly target proteins in cancer cells.
In a laboratory study, the new class of drugs already showed superior anti-tumour activity in cancer cells without affecting normal tissue.
The novel molecules fragment in cells and induce DNA modifications, which are irreparable in cancer cells with DNA repair defects, according to Modifi.
Modifi Biosciences co-founder and Yale School of Medicine pharmacology and therapeutic radiology professor Seth Herzon said: “We designed our small molecules to have the ability to uniquely overcome clinical resistance mechanisms that have been known for decades but until now have been non-actionable.”
Modifi Biosciences co-founder and Yale Brain Tumor Center at Smilow Cancer Hospital scientific director Ranjit Bindra said: “In founding Modifi Biosciences, we sought to radically change the oncology treatment paradigm for cancer patients with glioblastoma and other tumours.
“We are honoured to have Merck recognise the potential of our science, and as an oncology company, they are perfectly positioned to advance our innovations through clinical trials and commercialisation.”
In a separate development, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has recommended Merck’s Capvaxive for pneumococcal vaccination in adults aged 50 years and above.
Capvaxive is a pneumococcal 21-valent conjugate vaccine, intended to help protect against invasive pneumococcal disease and pneumonia caused by certain pneumococcus bacteria.
ACIP has also voted to update guidelines for age-based pneumococcal vaccination in adults.
