Amathus Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company working on small molecule modulators across diverse genetically defined diseases, has entered into a strategic collaboration with Merck to develop novel small molecule treatment candidates for neurodegenerative diseases.
In a statement on the collaboration, Amathus President and Chief Scientific Officer Edward Holson noted that the company will continue to place focus on taking advantage of genetically defined pathways and core pathologies in several indications.
“The Amathus team has demonstrated activation of molecular chaperones is possible and the potential to address core mitochondrial dysfunction with specificity holds tremendous therapeutic potential,” Holson said. “The Merck neuroscience team is an ideal partner to translate this novel approach into potential first-in-class, disease-modifying treatments for patients with neurodegenerative diseases.”
The terms of the agreement place responsibility on Amathus to identify and progress novel chaperone activators through the process of preclinical discovery. The agreement terms also give Merck the option to acquire Amathus as well as its treatment pipeline of mitochondrial-targeted drug candidates, all of which have been designed for the management of neurodegenerative disorders and renal diseases.
Merck will provide an upfront payment to Amathus if the former decides to exercise its option. Amathus will be eligible for milestone payments in excess of $500 million for each successfully developed candidate program. Merck, upon exercise of its option, will hold sole responsibility for the clinical development as well as commercialization of the candidates.
“We are excited to be working with the Amathus team to investigate the company’s novel mitochondrial-targeted candidates for the treatment of neurodegenerative conditions,” said Merck Research Laboratories’ Senior Vice President, Head of Discovery Sciences and Translational Medicine Fiona Marshall. “External collaborations that supplement and complement our internal pipeline programs remain a cornerstone of Merck’s discovery strategy.”
This new partnership with Amathus represents just another in a long line of collaborative agreements set forth by Merck. Earlier this year, Merck entered into a research partnership with clinical-stage biotechnology company Symvivo Corporation to advance a proprietary gene delivery platform across different indications. The terms of this agreement give Merck the option to obtain exclusive license of Symvivo’s platform technology to advance the delivery of oral vaccines.
Late last year, Merck also entered into an agreement with A2 Biotherapeutics to advance allogeneic cell therapy for solid tumors. Merck assists A2 with preclinical development of an undisclosed cell therapy candidate and has been given the option to exclusively develop, manufacture and commercialize the treatment following a Phase I research program. A2 receives an upfront payment from Merck under the collab, but specific financial details were not disclosed at the time of the agreement announcement.
In December 2020, Aligos Therapeutics entered into an exclusive license and research collaboration agreement with Merck, allowing both companies to further apply the Aligos-developed oligonucleotide platform in the discovery, research, optimization and development of oligonucleotides directed against a target for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. Up to one additional target of interest in cardiometabolic disease/fibrosis was also selected under terms of the agreement.
A few days before the Aligos partnership, Germany’s Merck KGaA announced it had also entered into a strategic collaboration agreement with Artios Pharma to discover and develop several precision oncology therapies. According to the terms of the agreement, Merck will pay Artios $30 million in upfront and near-term payments, and Artios will also be eligible to receive an additional $860 million per developed target, pending Merck KGaA’s exercise of the option.
