Date: 2016-01-11
Type of information: Company acquisition
Acquired company: IOmet (UK)
Acquiring company: Merck&Co (USA - NJ)
Amount: up to $ 400 million
Terms: * On January 11, 2016, Merck&Co announced that it has acquired IOmet, a privately-held UK-based drug discovery company focused on the development of innovative medicines for the treatment of cancer, with a particular emphasis on the fields of cancer immunotherapy and cancer metabolism. Under terms of the agreement, Merck, through a subsidiary, will acquire IOmet, including its comprehensive pre-clinical pipeline of IDO (indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase 1), TDO (tryptophan-2,3-dioxygenase), and dual-acting IDO/TDO inhibitors. Based on the transaction, IOmet will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Merck. Total purchase considertion in the transaction includes an upfront cash payment of $150 million and future additional milestone payments of up to $ 250 million that are contingent upon certain clinical and regulatory milestones being achieved.
Details: This acquisition expands Merck&Co's immuno-oncology development program with novel IDO1 and TDO Inhibitors. IDO1 and TDO are rate-limiting enzymes in the pathway that metabolizes the essential amino acid tryptophan. Overexpression of these enzymes has been detected in a variety of cancers – including glioma, melanoma, lung, ovarian, and colorectal cancers – and is associated with poor prognosis and survival. IDO1 and TDO overexpression leads to tryptophan depletion and high tumor levels of the breakdown product, kynurenine. This elevated kynurenine/tryptophan (K/T) ratio suppresses the body’s immune response to cancer, thus facilitating tumor progression and metastasis. Extensive preclinical evidence, and emerging clinical data, suggests that inhibition of IDO1 and/or TDO may synergize with, and help overcome resistance to, existing clinical cancer therapies, in particular other immunotherapy-based treatments. Data involving IOmet Pharma’s novel, pre-clinical IDO1, TDO and IDO1/TDO Dual Inhibitor programs were presented at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer Annual Meeting in November 2015. Last year, Pfizer, Roche and Genentech have also concluded licencing and clinical trial agreements for the development and commercialization of IDO1 and TDO inhibitors.
Related: Cancer - Oncology
