Merck has wandered off the beaten path to find a partner that can help it discover small molecule drug candidates against tough oncology and neurology targets. The deal sees Curve Therapeutics, working out of a site on the U.K.’s south coast, team up with Merck in a deal worth up to $1.7 billion.
Curve grew out of 15 years of work by Ali Tavassoli’s lab at the University of Southampton. Tavassoli and his collaborators published a series of papers on genetically encoded high-throughput screening, forming ties to pharma companies along the way and leading to the use of their libraries in mammalian cells. As the platform advanced, Advent Life Sciences entered the story and served as founding investor in Curve.
As Curve CEO Simon Kerry explained, the ability to screen gene-encoded libraries against proteins in their native intracellular state sets the platform apart from other screening technologies. The small, rigid Microcycles Curve uses to engage binding sites serve as the starting point for small molecule discovery.
Merck caught wind of the platform and has secured the chance to work with Curve against up to five targets. In return for applying its platform to the targets, Curve will receive an upfront fee of undisclosed size, plus the chance to pocket up to $1.7 billion in milestones. The partners are initially focusing on two of the targets, Kerry said.
Merck’s interest in the platform provides early validation of Curve’s approach. Curve has had a fairly low profile up to this point, securing investment from Advent and Epidarex Capital but largely flying under the radar. Kerry said the support of Advent and Epidarex, VCs with a track record of building biotechs, is a boon for Curve as it discusses partnering opportunities with pharma companies.
The Merck project will advance in parallel to Curve’s internal work. Led by Kerry and Curve chief scientific officer Tavassoli, a small, growing team is using the platform to build a pipeline of cancer programs
Curve’s pipeline is led by drug candidates against hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) and KRAS G12D. The HIF candidate, which is on course to be Curve’s first clinical program, stands apart from other drugs against the transcriptional complex as it hits both HIF-1 and HIF-2.