Biotech Values

[DewDiligence]

MRK acquires private I-O company, cCAM Biotherapeutics, for $95M up-front and $510M in contingent milestone payments:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/merck-enhances-immuno-oncology-portfolio-104500821.html

…Merck…will acquire all outstanding stock of cCAM in exchange for an upfront payment of $95 million in cash. In addition, cCAM shareholders of record are eligible to receive a total of up to $510 million associated with the attainment of certain clinical development, regulatory and commercial milestones.

…The acquisition provides Merck with several early immunotherapy candidates including cCAM Biotherapeutics’ lead pipeline candidate, CM-24 – a novel monoclonal antibody (mAb) targeting the immune checkpoint protein CEACAM1 that is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1 study for the treatment of advanced or recurrent malignancies, including melanoma, non-small-cell lung, bladder, gastric, colorectal, and ovarian cancers.

…cCAM Biotherapeutics, domiciled in Israel, will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Merck and continue to advance the development of CM-24 in its ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial. cCam was originally established under the Israeli Office of Chief Scientist’s incubators program.