Merck Makes a $2.8 Billion Bet on an Experimental New Cancer Drug
One of America's largest pharmaceutical companies is about to get a little bigger. On Thursday, Merck (NYSE: MRK) agreed to acquire a privately held biotech start-up called VelosBio for $2.75 billion in cash.
VelosBio's lead candidate, VLS-101, is a potential first-in-class antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) that targets a protein called Ror1, which is often found on the surface of cancer cells. After the antibody component of VLS-101 finds its target, it delivers a miniature chemotherapy grenade to cancer cells.
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Source Fool.com
