Merck acquires $30M 'chameleon' method for lethal brain cancers

Merck is set to acquire Modifi Bio, a startup founded from Yale University, which has made significant strides in developing treatments for chemotherapy-resistant glioblastoma, a highly aggressive type of brain cancer. The initial payment from Merck will be $30 million, but the total value of the deal could reach up to $1.3 billion contingent on future milestone payments.

Modifi Bio was established in 2021, with a mission to transform the scientific discoveries made by Yale researchers into therapeutic solutions for brain tumors. These findings, which were published in the journal Science when the company was launched in 2022, demonstrated that a specific type of DNA modifier could bridge two DNA strands in such a manner that healthy cells could repair any incurred damage, while cancer cells could not, resulting in the selective death of cancer cells.

Ranjit Bindra, a Yale Brain Tumor Center co-director and co-founder of Modifi Bio, explained that the molecules are referred to as “chameleon-like” by the scientists due to their unique behavior. These DNA modifications are harmful to glioblastoma cells but are perceived differently by normal cells. Bindra stated that the molecules adapt their appearance and actions based on the DNA's molecular surroundings.

The treatment developed by Modifi Bio is akin to targeted chemotherapy. The inspiration behind this method comes from temozolomide, a commonly used chemotherapy for brain cancer patients. Modifi Bio co-founder Kingson Lin, who completed his MD/PhD at Yale and is currently a resident at the Harvard Radiation Oncology Program, posed the question of why temozolomide was the only effective treatment. He noted that previous efforts to create analogues of temozolomide had not been successful.

The Yale research team explored how temozolomide operated in glioblastoma cells deficient in MGMT, a DNA repair enzyme, and aimed to design molecules that could similarly link DNA in a fatal way, bypassing the tumor's resistance mechanisms.

In its early funding stages, Modifi Bio gathered $10.7 million in seed money. As they pursued Series A funding, the founders confronted not only a challenging biotech market but also the difficulty of promoting a treatment for glioblastoma, which is less prevalent and offers lower financial returns. Bindra mentioned that some investors showed more interest in the broader applications of the company's platform beyond central nervous system (CNS) indications. However, Modifi Bio remained focused on developing the drug for glioblastoma, their original target.

This focus eventually attracted Merck, leading to the acquisition of Modifi Bio in a deal finalized last Tuesday. As part of the acquisition, Merck will obtain MOD-246, a development candidate that has been optimized from the original compound described in their Science publication, along with its related analogues.