Merck and GSK Announce Global Alliance to Jointly Develop and Commercialize M7824, a Novel Immunotherapy with Potential in Multiple Difficult-to-Treat Cancers - Seite 2

M7824 across a broad range of cancer indications as we continue to
advance our oncology portfolio."

"Despite recent medical advances, many patients with
difficult-to-treat cancers don't currently benefit from
immuno-oncology therapies leaving them with limited treatment
options. M7824 brings together two different biological functions in
a single molecule and we have observed encouraging clinical results
in treating certain cancer patients, particularly those people with
non-small cell lung cancer," said Hal Barron, Chief Scientific
Officer and President R&D, GSK. "I'm excited by the potential impact
this first-in-class immunotherapy could have on the lives of cancer
patients."

Merck will receive an upfront payment of EUR300 million and is
eligible for potential development milestone payments of up to EUR500
million triggered by data from the M7824 lung cancer program. Merck
will also be eligible for further payments upon successfully
achieving future approval and commercial milestones of up to EUR2.9
billion. The total potential deal value is up to EUR3.7 billion. Both
companies will jointly conduct development and commercialization with
all profits and costs from the collaboration being shared equally on
a global basis.

This alliance reflects Merck's strategic approach to oncology R&D,
identifying those opportunities that can progress the company's
highly promising clinical stage assets as efficiently and rapidly as
possible, whether through internal expertise and capabilities or
external collaborations.

For GSK, this alliance is a further step in the company's priority
to strengthen its pharmaceuticals pipeline. This follows the
company's recent acquisition of TESARO, an oncology-focused company
based in Waltham, Massachusetts. GSK's approach to oncology is
focused on innovation in the areas of immuno-oncology, cell therapy,
cancer epigenetics and, most recently, genetic medicine.

With this alliance, both companies have the leadership position in
this new class of immunotherapies, specifically leveraging TGF-?
biology.

*Bintrafusp alfa is the proposed International Nonproprietary Name
(INN) for the bifunctional immunotherapy M7824. Bintrafusp alfa is
currently under clinical investigation and not approved for any use
anywhere in the world.

About M7824 (also now known as bintrafusp alfa)

M7824 is an investigational bifunctional immunotherapy that is
designed to combine a TGF-? trap with the anti-PD-L1 mechanism in one
fusion protein. M7824 is designed to combine co-localized blocking of
the two immuno-suppressive pathways - targeting both pathways aims to
control tumor growth by potentially restoring and enhancing