Merck adds experimental COVID-19 therapy with OncoImmune deal

Merck & Co Inc has agreed to acquire drugmaker OncoImmune in a deal that will give it control of a drug that could help ease symptoms and reduce deaths in patients with severe or critical cases of COVID-19.

Merck is paying $425 million for the private company, in addition to extra payments for regulatory milestones and sales. Merck has built out its portfolio of COVID-19 medicines through a series of deals in recent months, including the acquisition of Australian drugmaker Themis and a partnership with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics LP.

OncoImmune recently announced positive interim data from a phase 3 trial of its leading therapeutic candidate, CD24F, for patients with severe and critical COVID-19.

The data show that the therapy, which is administered as an injection, increased the likelihood of symptom improvement in serious COVID-19 cases and also reduced the risk of respiratory failure and death, said Roger Perlmutter, who heads research at Merck.

He added that CD24F could potentially complement dexamethasone, a generic steroid that is the current standard of care for the most serious COVID-19 cases. The steroid was used to treat U.S. President Donald Trump for COVID-19 in October.

Merck is aiming to develop the manufacturing capacity needed to produce the therapy at scale, which could take weeks to months. Reuters