Merck KGaA bets big on DNA damage upstart, pushing $30M upfront and hefty incentives for a Lynparza pioneer
The DNA damage specialists over at Artios Pharma have remained largely quiet in the 2 1/2 years since their last fundraise, but whatever they’ve been up to, it’s impressed Merck KGaA.
The Big Pharma announced Thursday that they had inked a three-year-deal with Artios to discover and develop small molecule cancer drugs that target DNA repair enzymes. The German Merck will pay Artios $30 million upfront, with another $865 million in milestone available per target.
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