Daiichi Sankyo, Merck Set to Collaborate on Three DXd Antibody-Drug Conjugates

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Daiichi Sankyo and Merck announced that they have entered into a global development and commercialization agreement for three of Daiichi Sankyo’s DXd antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) candidates: patritumab deruxtecan (HER3-DXd), ifinatamab deruxtecan (I-DXd) and raludotatug deruxtecan (R-DXd). Reportedly, the companies will jointly develop and potentially commercialize the candidates globally, except for Japan where Daiichi Sankyo will maintain exclusive rights.

“The promising results from clinical trials of patritumab deruxtecan, ifinatamab deruxtecan and raludotatug deruxtecan continue to demonstrate the broad applicability of Daiichi Sankyo’s DXd ADC technology across multiple targets, with each of these medicines having the potential to change clinical practice as has been already seen with Enherti,” said Sunao Manabe, representative director, executive chairperson, CEO, Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited. “As Daiichi Sankyo continues its transformation into a global oncology leader by increasingly building our infrastructure and talent, we recognize that a collaboration with Merck, a company with remarkable oncology experience and strong in-house development capabilities and resources, will help us deliver on our obligation to deliver these potential new DXd ADCs to more patients as quickly as possible.”

Reference: Daiichi Sankyo and Merck Announce Global Development and Commercialization Collaboration for Three Daiichi Sankyo DXd ADCs. Merck. October 19, 2023. Accessed October 20, 2023. https://www.merck.com/news/daiichi-sankyo-and-merck-announce-global-development-and-commercialization-collaboration-for-three-daiichi-sankyo-dxd-adcs/