Merck Puts Big Bet on KRAS G12D with $2.13B Deal

Merck & Co. has joined the ranks of pharma companies betting big on KRAS G12D, a mutation found in about 38% of pancreatic cancer patients.

The company will pay $400 million upfront for worldwide rights to SciBrunch's preclinical candidate SPR2015, with milestone payments that could bring the deal's total value up to $2.13 billion across multiple indications.

This is the latest move by a major pharma in the KRAS G12D space, following Bayer's $1.3 billion biobucks deal with Kumquat Biosciences for a preclinical asset.

Merck already has a KRAS drug in the clinic, calderasib, which is in phase 3 trials for colorectal cancer and non-small cell lung cancer. SPR2015 has demonstrated nanomolar antiproliferative activities in various KRAS G12D-mutant cell lines while maintaining good selectivity over KRAS wildtype cells.