Kenilworth, NJ - According to Eric Strauss of NJBiz, "Merck is acquiring an Israeli biopharmaceutical company for $95 million in cash, the drugmaker announced Tuesday. The Kenilworth-based company’s deal for cCAM Biotherapeutics, which is focused on cancer immunotherapies, could potentially include up to $510 million in milestone payments, it said."
“We continue to strengthen our portfolio of immunotherapeutic candidates through strategic collaborations and acquisitions,” Dr. Roger M. Perlmutter, president of Merck Research Laboratories, said in a prepared statement. “The acquisition of cCAM supports our objective to advance the care of patients with cancer by stimulating tumor-directed immune responses.”
Privately held cCAM’s portfolio of immuno-oncology products includes CM-24, which is in a Phase 1 study for treatment of advanced or recurrent cancers. The drugmaker will now become a wholly owned subsidiary of Merck, but will continue to advance the development of CM-24.
“Merck’s excellence and leadership in immuno-oncology provides a strong foundation for advancing CM-24 for the treatment of people with cancer,” Pini Orbach, cCAM’s chairman and head of pharma at Arkin Holdings, said in a statement. “This is a significant achievement for cCAM Biotherapeutics, as well as a vote of confidence in the Israeli innovative biotech industry as a whole.”
The deal is subject to certain closing conditions, Merck said.
In other news, Merck said its second-quarter 2015 earnings excluding items rose to 86 cents per share, topping analyst estimates of 81 cents as reported by Yahoo! Finance. Earnings were up a penny from the prior year’s figure.
The company said is Q2 2015 sales were down 11 percent, to $9.8 billion, including 7 percent negative impacts from both transactions and foreign exchange.
“We’re investing resources to grow our strongest brands and to support the most promising assets in our pipeline, while at the same time lowering our cost base and delivering operating leverage,” Chairman and CEO Kenneth C. Frazier said in a statement.
Privately held cCAM’s portfolio of immuno-oncology products includes CM-24, which is in a Phase 1 study for treatment of advanced or recurrent cancers. The drugmaker will now become a wholly owned subsidiary of Merck, but will continue to advance the development of CM-24.
“Merck’s excellence and leadership in immuno-oncology provides a strong foundation for advancing CM-24 for the treatment of people with cancer,” Pini Orbach, cCAM’s chairman and head of pharma at Arkin Holdings, said in a statement. “This is a significant achievement for cCAM Biotherapeutics, as well as a vote of confidence in the Israeli innovative biotech industry as a whole.”
The deal is subject to certain closing conditions, Merck said.
In other news, Merck said its second-quarter 2015 earnings excluding items rose to 86 cents per share, topping analyst estimates of 81 cents as reported by Yahoo! Finance. Earnings were up a penny from the prior year’s figure.
The company said is Q2 2015 sales were down 11 percent, to $9.8 billion, including 7 percent negative impacts from both transactions and foreign exchange.
“We’re investing resources to grow our strongest brands and to support the most promising assets in our pipeline, while at the same time lowering our cost base and delivering operating leverage,” Chairman and CEO Kenneth C. Frazier said in a statement.
