Merck Lands Cancer Treatment Deal with SciBrunch for Up to $2.13 Billion

Merck has made a significant move in its efforts to expand its cancer treatment pipeline by licensing an experimental drug from China's SciBrunch Therapeutics. Under the deal, Merck will pay up to $2.13 billion for rights to develop, manufacture, and sell SPR2015, an oral cancer treatment targeting KRAS G12D mutations found in pancreatic, colorectal, and lung cancers.

The agreement includes a $400 million upfront payment for SciBrunch, with the potential for up to $1.73 billion in milestone payments. Merck expects this deal to result in a pre-tax charge of $400 million in its third-quarter 2026 results.

Analyst Louise Chen from Scotiabank estimates that Merck has visibility into more than $70 billion in commercial opportunity by the mid-2030s, more than double Wall Street's estimate for Keytruda's peak revenue in 2028. SPR2015 is currently in preclinical development and has not yet entered human testing.