Merck: to acquire OncoImmune for 425 million dollars

(CercleFinance.com) - Merck said it is going to acquire OncoImmune for 425 million dollars in cash, as the pharmaceutical giant seeks to boost its research-and-development pipeline in Covid-19, an area where the company has been lagging recently.


The drugmaker said that it will accelerate development of CD24Fc, a candidate for the treatment of patients with severe and critical Covid for which OncoImmune announced positive findings from a Phase 3 study.

The 203-participant trial showed a 60% higher probability of improvements compared to placebo, with the risk of death or respiratory failure cut by more than 50%, Merck said.

Before the findings, OncoImmune was a privately-held, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical firm specialising in the prevention of graft versus host disease (GVHD) following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in patients with leukemia.

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