Nasdaq-listed drug developer Merus NV (NASDAQ:MRUS) added more than half to its market value as it agreed a tie-up with pharma research group Incyte (NASDAQ:INCY).
The deal will see Inctyte invest US$80mln in new Merus shares and pay an additional US$120mln for exclusive rights to eleven bispecific antibody research programs, including two pre-clinical immuno-oncology developments.
Netherlands-based Merus is keeping some rights to both its two clinical candidates and colorectal cancer hope MCLA-158.
Incyte will fund and develop the other eight with Merus earning potential milestone payments of US$350mln per candidate or US$2.8bn in total if all prove commercial.
“By virtue of a unique ability to simultaneously engage multiple protein targets, we believe bispecific antibodies have the potential to play an important role in the future of biotherapeutics,” said
“This collaboration with Merus expands our large molecule discovery capabilities into an innovation-rich area of research.”
Pre-market trading saw Merus shares rise 50% from their overnight close of US$15.