Merck Acquires Tilos Therapeutics, For Up To $773M
Summary
Merck (NYSE: MRK) (MSD outside the United States and Canada), is to acquire Tilos Therapeutics, a Lexington, MA-based biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutics targeting the latent TGFβ complex for the treatment of cancer, fibrosis and autoimmune diseases. Led by Dr. Barbara Fox, CEO, Tilos has developed a portfolio of candidates that employ a novel approach to modulating the potent signaling molecule TGFβ by binding to latency-associated peptide, with potential applications across a range of disease indications. TGFβ is a potent cytokine believed to play an important role in the development of cancer and fibrotic diseases. LAP forms a cage around TGFβ, holding the cytokine in an inactive state until it is deployed. The company was founded by Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund and Partners Innovation Fund, based on discoveries by the laboratory of Dr. Howard Weiner at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.