Pharma BD Deal Intelligence

Merck & Co. Inc. / Sichuan Kelun-Biotech Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

2023 · Licensing/Option · $9.5B · Complete

Outcome grade pending — assessed 5 years post-close.

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The coverage arc

Jan 09, 2023 BioPharma Dive Bullish

Merck has agreed to pay up to $9.5 billion to license seven preclinical antibody-drug conjugate candidates from China's Kelun-Biotech, the latest in a series…

Jan 09, 2023 STAT News Neutral

Merck has signed its third licensing deal with Chinese biotech Kelun-Biotech in less than a year, this time for seven preclinical ADC candidates worth up to…

Aug 20, 2024 BioPharma Dive Neutral

Merck exercised an option to acquire global rights to SKB571, a bispecific ADC targeting solid tumors in lung and gastrointestinal cancers, for $37.5 million,…

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

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Merck and Kelun-Biotech entered an exclusive license and collaboration agreement for seven investigational preclinical ADC candidates for cancer. Kelun-Biotech received $175M upfront plus an undisclosed equity investment, with up to $9.3B in development, regulatory and sales milestones plus tiered royalties. Kelun-Biotech retains rights for mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.

Key facts

Related deals — scored

DealYearValueOutcome
Merck & Co. Inc. / Sichuan Kelun-Biotech Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (this deal)2023$9.5B
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

Compare all 7 side-by-side →

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