Merck licenses Chinese cancer drug, seeking to maintain oncology leadership

In an effort to maintain the company’s dominant position in cancer, Merck said Thursday it will license a new cancer drug from LaNova Medicines, a Shanghai-based firm, for $588 million upfront and potential payments of as much as $2.7 billion.

Cancer immunotherapy Keytruda, Merck’s most important product The drug, the world’s best-selling drug with $23 billion in annual sales, will lose patent protection as early as 2028 and face competition from generic drugmakers, and investors are already worried about what will happen at Merck once revenues from the drug kick in. to reject.

“At Merck, we continue to build a strong and diversified oncology pipeline that spans different mechanisms and multiple modalities,” Dean Li, president of Merck Research Laboratories, said in a statement. “This agreement adds to Merck’s growing oncology pipeline, and we look forward to advancing LM-299 with speed and rigor for patients in need.”

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