Merck gains rights to immuno-oncology program with IOmet Pharma acquisition

US pharma giant Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK) says it has acquired IOmet Pharma, a privately-held Scotland-based drug discovery company focused on the development of innovative medicines for the treatment of cancer, with a particular emphasis on the fields of cancer immunotherapy and cancer metabolism, adding a preclinical pipeline of therapies that target the IDO/TDO .

Under terms of the accord, Merck, through a subsidiary, will acquire IOmet, including its comprehensive preclinical pipeline of IDO (indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase 1), TDO (tryptophan-2,3-dioxygenase), and dual-acting IDO/TDO inhibitors. Based on the transaction, IOmet will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Merck. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Merck is already a leader in the checkpoint inhibition field with its Keytruda (pembrolizumab), and the drug giant in February 2014 linked up with Incyte on its IDO1 drug epacadostat (INCB24360) alongside MK-3475 immunotherapy in an early stage study for non-small cell lung cancer.