Pharma BD Deal Intelligence

Merck & Co. Inc. / Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited

2023 · Licensing/Option · $22.0B · Complete

CALLED IT — OFF BY 24
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Top 5 largest deals of the 2020s

Ranks computed across 828 graded deals (Critic + Outcome Score both present).

The coverage arc

Jan 13, 2026 Lung Cancer Trial to Proceed After FDA Releases Hold on Merck, Daiichi ADC - BioSpace Bullish

FDA lifted the U.S. partial clinical hold on the Phase 3 IDeate-Lung02 trial of ifinatamab deruxtecan on Jan 13, 2026; EU hold remained in place.

Apr 13, 2026 Ifinatamab Deruxtecan Granted Priority Review in the US - Daiichi Sankyo Bullish

FDA accepted the BLA and granted Priority Review for I-DXd in previously treated ES-SCLC; PDUFA action date October 10, 2026.

Apr 17, 2026 Merck Press Release Bullish

Daiichi Sankyo and Merck announce global development and commercialization collaboration for three Daiichi Sankyo DXd ADCs. Merck will pay a $4 billion upfront…

Source summaries from our enrichment pipeline; follow links for originals.

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Merck entered a global development and commercialization collaboration with Daiichi Sankyo for three DXd-based ADC candidates, paying $4 billion upfront plus $1.5 billion in continuation payments, with up to $16.5 billion in additional sales milestones (total potential value up to $22 billion); Daiichi Sankyo retains exclusive rights in Japan and is solely responsible for manufacturing. The collaboration was expanded in August 2024 to add gocatamig (MK-6070/DS3280). Outcomes have been mixed: patritumab deruxtecan (HER3-DXd) failed FDA review for NSCLC and was withdrawn. Ifinatamab deruxtecan (I-DXd) had its Phase 3 IDeate-Lung02 trial placed on a U.S. partial clinical hold in late 2025 over excess ILD-related deaths, but the FDA lifted that hold in January 2026 (the EU hold remained), and in April 2026 the FDA accepted I-DXd's BLA for previously treated extensive-stage small cell lung cancer with Priority Review (PDUFA action date October 10, 2026). Raludotatug deruxtecan (R-DXd, CDH6-targeted) completed dose optimization in the REJOICE-Ovarian01 study (5.6 mg/kg selected) and advanced to the Phase 3 portion in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer.

Key facts

Related deals — scored

DealYearValueOutcome
Merck & Co. Inc. / Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited (this deal)2023$22.0B68
Merck & Co. Inc. / Acceleron Pharma Inc.2021$11.5B90
Merck & Co. Inc. / Peloton Therapeutics Inc.2019$2.2B88
Merck & Co. Inc. / AstraZeneca PLC2017$8.5B87
Merck & Co. Inc. / Moderna, Inc.2022$250M86
Merck & Co. Inc. / Moderna, Inc.2016$250M84
Merck & Co. Inc. / Eisai Co., Ltd.2018$5.8B83

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