Denmark’s Genmab said adding its bispecific antibody petosemtamab to MSD’s Keytruda (pembrolizumab) cut the risk of death by 50% versus Keytruda alone in a Phase 3 trial in first-line, PD-L1-positive recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer. The interim result is the first randomized evidence for the lead asset of Genmab’s $8 billion takeover of Dutch biotech Merus last year.
Last week, Genmab and AbbVie hit a setback with epcoritamab, after the bispecific T-cell-engaging antibody failed to deliver a survival benefit in a phase 3 study in relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The EPCORE DLBCL-1 trial missed its primary endpoint of overall survival, the partners said on Friday. While epcoritamab did slow disease progression and performed better across several secondary measures, the survival miss overshadows the readout.
Danish Genmab A/S has acquired the Dutch oncology specialist Merus NV for US$8bn in cash. The 41% premium over Merus’s share price at Friday is largely attributed to the bispecific EGFR x LGR5 antibody, Petosemtamab
Genmab announced today that it will acquire privately held biotech company ProfoundBio for $1.8bn in cash. The deal is designed to help the Danish pharmaceutical company deepen its cancer pipeline with next-generation antibody-drug conjugate therapies where the company has already an inlicensing deal with former Synaffix´s ADC technology platform (which was acquired mid of 2023 by Lonza).
Genmab and argenx have entered a multiyear collaboration bringing together capabilities to jointly discover, develop and commercialise antibody therapies.
Merus NV