MSD scoops up biopharma firm Tilos for $773 million
pharmafile | June 10, 2019 | News story | Sales and Marketing | MSD, Tilos Therapeutics, acquisition, pharma
US-based firm MSD has announced it intends to acquire biopharma firm Tilos Therapeutics, and has signed a deal with the company to this effect, valued to a total of $773 million.
This new deal means that MSD will acquire all outstanding shares of Tilos through a subsidiary, which altogether come to a potential consideration of $773 million, which includes both an upfront payment as well as milestone payments dependent on the achievement of certain developmental and commercial goals.
“At Merck we continue to enhance our robust pipeline through active execution of our business development strategy,” said MSD’s Dr Dean Li, Senior Vice President, Discovery and Translational Medicine. “Tilos has developed a compelling portfolio of candidates that employ a novel approach to modulating the potent signaling molecule TGFβ by binding to latency-associated peptide, with potential applications across a range of disease indications.”
Tilos was founded upon the scientific breakthroughs made by Dr Howard Weiner at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and made a reality through the investment of the Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund and Partners Innovation Fund and Harvard Medical School, as well as the ShangPharma Innovation Fund. The company focuses on the development of therapies to fight cancer, fibrosis and autoimmune diseases by targeting the latent TGFβ complex, a potent cytokine which is implicated in the development of these conditions.
“We are proud that the Tilos team has advanced the discoveries of our scientific founders by developing a portfolio of anti-LAP antibodies designed to realize the full potential of TGFβ-modulating therapeutics,” added Dr Barbara Fox, CEO at Tilos. “This agreement with Merck, an industry leader in biopharmaceutical research and development, provides meaningful validation for our therapeutic approach and best positions our pipeline for broad clinical and commercial success.”
Matt Fellows
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