ESMO 2023 – Daiichi shows why Merck paid $1.5bn for CDH6
Merck & Co’s multi-billion dollar licensing deal for three Daiichi Sankyo antibody-drug conjugates stole much of ESMO’s thunder on Friday, and today brought some evidence backing the $1.5bn accounted for by the CDH6-targeting asset raludotatug deruxtecan. A first-in-human trial had earlier generated three confirmed partial responses among 14 ovarian cancer patients, and today at ESMO the results were updated to a stunning 46% confirmed ORR in a dataset comprising 50 ovarian cancer subjects given raludotatug at 4.8-8.0mg/kg, in addition to four unconfirmed PRs. A note of caution, however: the 8.0mg/kg dose has been discontinued after two patients died from interstitial lung disease – a known toxicity of Daiichi’s ADCs – and this dose accounts for six remissions in the waterfall plot. The Merck deal split out the value by project, and that relating to raludotatug comprises $750m up front plus $750m 12 months after execution, in addition to a commitment to fund 75% of the first $2bn of R&D. Plans are under way for a late-stage raludotatug study in advanced ovarian cancer.
This story has been amended to correct the value of Merck's R&D commitment.
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