Merck Serono and Selvita collaborate on cancer research

Merck Serono, the biopharmaceutical division of Germany’s Merck KGaA (MRK: DE), and Poland-based biotech firm Selvita (PL:SLV) have entered into a collaboration to jointly discover small molecule-based drugs targeting proteins involved in cancer cell metabolism.

The companies plan to target key metabolic pathways involved in sustaining growth and proliferation of cancer cells. The aim of the collaboration is to deliver potential first-in-class molecules as candidate drugs for multiple oncology indications. Both companies will contribute to the collaboration’s research goals and bring their expertise in target validation, bioinformatics, medicinal chemistry, in vitro and in vivo biology and toxicology.

Financial and other terms of the collaboration