Merck extends discovery partnership with NGM, drops obesity candidate

Merck & Co. said it will extend by two years its research collaboration with NGM and provide an additional $20 million in R&D funding. The pair initially partnered for five years in 2015 to discover and develop cardiometabolic and cancer programs.

Through the partnership, Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE:MRK) gained in January exclusive, worldwide rights to MK-3655 (formerly NGM313) from NGM Biopharmaceuticals Inc. (South San Francisco, Calif.). Merck plans to evaluate MK-3655's effect on liver histology and glucose control in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) patients in a Phase IIb trial. The mAb agonizes the KLB/FGFR1c complex (see "Merck Licenses NASH, Diabetes Compound from NGM")...