Merck pays $30 million upfront to acquire cancer therapy developer Modifi Biosciences

US pharma multinational Merck has acquired Modifi Biosciences, a developer of new oncology drug molecules, for $30 million upfront and up to $1.3 billion based on milestones in development of therapies.

Modifi Bio is developing a new class of molecules that can selectively kill cancer cells via direct cancer DNA, and can be delivered orally.

As per reports, the new therapy uses a class of chameleon-like molecules that are active and selective against cancer cells that lack a key DNA repair protein called MGMT and can overcome key resistance mechanisms in cancer.

Modifi Biosciences seeks to radically change the oncology treatment paradigm for cancer patients with glioblastoma and other tumors, according to Ranjit S Bindra, co-founder of Modifi Biosciences and Harvey and Kate Cushing, Professor of Therapeutic Radiology at Yale School of Medicine, and Scientific Director of the Yale Brain Tumor Center at Smilow Cancer Hospital. 

Merck has paid $30 million upfront and, as per the deal, Modifi will receive potential payments of up to $1.3 billion depending on the delivery of the new class of therapies, KL-50, being developed to treat tumours and glioblastomas that are difficult to treat otherwise.

New Haven, Connecticut-based Modifi, which is backed by investors, including American Cancer Society's investment arm, BrightEdge, has raised $10.7 million in seed funding.

Merck is in the lookout for new therapies that can replace its cancer immunotherapy, Keytruda, which is set to lose its patent protection by the end of the decade.

The company, last year, entered into a $5.5 billion deal with Japan's Daiichi Sankyo to jointly develop three of its targeted cancer therapies, or antibody drug conjugates tyhat target tumor cells while sparing healthy ones.