The companies said that they will jointly develop and commercialize MK-6070 worldwide, except in Japan where MSD will maintain exclusive rights. MSD will be solely responsible for manufacturing and supply for MK-6070.

MK-6070 is a T-cell engager targeting DLL3, an inhibitory canonical Notch ligand that is expressed at high levels in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and neuroendocrine tumors, currently being evaluated in a phase 1/2 clinical trial. The companies are planning to evaluate MK-6070 in combination with ifinatamab deruxtecan in certain patients with SCLC, as well as other potential combinations.

“Expanding our oncology pipeline with a DLL3 T-cell engager further supports Daiichi Sankyo’s strategy to create new standards of care for patients with cancer worldwide,” said Ken Takeshita, global head, R&D, Daiichi Sankyo.

“Small cell lung cancer is an aggressive, fast-growing form of lung cancer and new treatment approaches are urgently needed,” said Dean Y. Li, president, MSD Research Laboratories.

Under the terms of the agreement, MSD will receive an upfront cash payment of $170 million and has also satisfied a contingent quid obligation from the original collaboration agreement. The companies said that they will share R&D and commercialization expenses as well as profits worldwide, except for Japan where MSD retains exclusive rights and Daiichi Sankyo receives a royalty based on sales.

Daiichi Sankyo and MSD entered into a global collaboration in October 2023 to jointly develop and commercialize patritumab deruxtecan (HER3-DXd), ifinatamab deruxtecan (I-DXd) and raludotatug deruxtecan (R-DXd), except in Japan where Daiichi Sankyo will maintain exclusive rights.