On December 12, 2023 C4 Therapeutics, Inc. (C4T) (Nasdaq: CCCC), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to advancing targeted protein degradation science to develop a new generation of small-molecule medicines and transform how disease is treated, reported that it has entered into an exclusive license and collaboration agreement with Merck (known as MSD outside of the U.S. and Canada) to develop degrader-antibody conjugates (DACs), an emerging modality designed to selectively target and neutralize disease-causing proteins in cancer cells (Press release, C4 Therapeutics, DEC 12, 2023, View Source [SID1234638483]).
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"We are thrilled to collaborate with Merck to innovate within the growing field of antibody-drug conjugates and evaluate the potential for combining the catalytic efficiency, potency, target specificity, and durability of degraders with the specific binding and delivery capabilities of antibodies," said Andrew Hirsch, president and chief executive officer of C4 Therapeutics. "We look forward to leveraging our powerful TORPEDO platform in collaboration with Merck’s antibody-drug conjugation expertise to engineer novel medicines with the potential to transform patients’ lives."
Under the terms of the agreement, C4T will receive a $10 million upfront payment. C4T and Merck will collaborate to develop DACs directed to an initial undisclosed oncology target that is exclusive to the collaboration. For DACs directed to this initial target, C4T is eligible to receive milestone payments totaling approximately $600 million, as well as tiered royalties on future sales. The agreement also provides Merck with the option to extend the collaboration to include three additional targets that would be exclusive to the collaboration, which could yield option exercise payments as well as potential milestones and royalties. If Merck exercises all of its options to extend the collaboration, C4T would be eligible to receive up to approximately $2.5 billion in potential payments across the entire collaboration.
"This collaboration combines Merck’s significant biological chemistry expertise with C4T’s leading protein degradation technology," said George Addona, senior vice president, discovery, preclinical development and translational medicine, Merck Research Laboratories. "At Merck, we continue to evaluate new ways to advance the science of targeted medicine."
As part of the collaboration, C4T will be responsible for using its proprietary TORPEDO platform to develop degrader payloads in the discovery phase. Merck will be responsible for antibody conjugation to create DACs in the discovery phase and for advancing these DAC candidates through preclinical and clinical development as well as commercialization.