On 29 May 2024, Merck (MSD) announced the acquisition of privately owned opthalmology focussed biotech EyeBio for US$3 billion, including an upfront payment of US$1.3 billion and $US1.7 billion in milestone payments. The acquisition has been unanimously approved by EyeBio’s board, and is expected to close in Q3/2024.
EyeBio’s lead candidate, Restoret™ (EYE103), is a tri-specific antibody for diabetic macular oedema (DME) and neovascular age-related macular degeneration and is expected to enter pivotal studies for DME in the second half of 2024.
In March 2024, MSD completed its acquisition of Harpoon Therapeutics for about US$650M with the aim of augmenting and diversifying its oncology pipeline.