Merck drops some of cancer drug development with China's Sichuan Kelun

24 October 2023

Chinese drugmaker Sichuan Kelun Pharmaceutical (SHE: 002422) on Monday revealed that Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK) was abandoning the joint development of two candidate cancer drugs which have yet to start clinical trials.

Having plunging by as much as 9.8% in morning trading, Kelun closed down 6.9% at 25.14 renminbi, the lowest level since December 2022.

The collaboration between Merck and Kelun was announced late last year and expanded on an initial alliance centered on the TROP2-targeting ADC candidate MK-2870, also known as SKB-264, with an additional ADC added a few months later. The heavily backloaded deal announced last December came with an upfront payment of $175 million, and had a total value of over $9 billion, to develop seven other preclinical ADCs for cancer.

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