Merck, known as MSD outside the U.S. and Canada, has entered into a $700 million funding agreement with Blackstone Life Sciences to support the development of sacituzumab tirumotecan (sac-TMT), an investigational antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) designed to target TROP2, a protein commonly expressed on various cancer cells.
The funding will help advance 15 ongoing global Phase 3 clinical trials evaluating sac-TMT across six tumor types, including breast, endometrial, and lung cancers.
“This agreement positions Merck to harness the potential of sac-TMT, a promising ADC candidate targeting TROP2, while we continue to advance our broad and expansive pipeline,” said Caroline Litchfield, Chief Financial Officer at Merck. “We are making important investments to drive patient impact and revenue growth, and to sustain our business for the future.”
Under the terms of the deal, Blackstone will provide $700 million to fund part of the drug’s development costs through 2026. In return, Blackstone will receive low-to-mid single-digit royalties on sac-TMT’s net sales, contingent upon U.S. regulatory approval for first-line treatment of triple-negative breast cancer based on results from the TroFuse-011 trial.
“Sac-TMT is an innovative asset that has the potential to improve patient care across many forms of cancer,” said Dr. Nicholas Galakatos, Global Head of Blackstone Life Sciences. “We are excited to collaborate with Merck to help bring this important therapy to patients.”
Sac-TMT is being developed under an existing exclusive license and collaboration agreement with Sichuan Kelun-Biotech Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Sichuan Kelun Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Merck will maintain full control over the drug’s development, manufacturing, and commercialization, while Blackstone will not hold any rights to the product.
The agreement underscores Merck’s continued investment in oncology innovation and its strategy to advance next-generation therapies targeting difficult-to-treat cancers.