Merck & Co Collaborates with Curve
US pharma group Merck & Co is collaborating with Curve Therapeutics, a privately-held UK biotech that has developed a proprietary functional drug discovery platform called Microcycle. The partners aim to discover and validate modulators of up to five therapeutic targets using Microcycle, initially for oncology and neurology indications.
Curve said its platform enables the direct discovery of biologically active molecules against targets that have been difficult to address using conventional drug discovery methods. “Screening a genetically encoded Microcycle library against proteins in their native intracellular state is unique in drug discovery and Curve’s platform creates an unprecedented opportunity to discover functional hits that are readily converted to small-molecule leads against the most challenging targets in drug discovery,” said Curve’s chief scientific officer, Ali Tavassoli.
Under the terms of the agreement, Curve could receive up to $1.7 billion if all five therapeutic programs succeed, made up of an undisclosed upfront sum and further payments linked to milestones.
Curve’s CEO Simon Kerry described the collaboration as “a major milestone and an important endorsement of our ground-breaking drug discovery platform.” The biotech was established in 2019 after being spun out of Southampton University. Its founding investor is Advent Life Sciences, which was subsequently joined by co-lead Epidarex Capital.
Author: Elaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist
