Benzinga | Sep 30, 2021 03:27PM EDT

GlaxoSmithKline, Merck KGaA End $4B Cancer Drug Pact

* Merck KGaA (OTC:MKGAF) and GlaxoSmithKline Plc (NASDAQ:GSK) have ended their $4 billion collaboration on cancer treatment, bintrafusp alfa.

* Merck said the move was a mutual decision, primarily due to disappointing lung cancer trial data, adding that GSK made no milestone payments and no future milestone obligations remain.

* Merck KGaA said in January that a late-stage lung cancer study testing bintrafusp alfa against Merck & Co Inc's (NYSE:MRK) Keytruda, in a type of lung cancer, was stopped early because the drug was unlikely to show the desired effect.

* GSK did not pay out any milestone payments through the deal and will not do so in the future, either. Merck collected (euro)300 million upfront in 2019 through the pact, with an additional (euro)500 million in milestones and (euro)2.9 billion in sales possible down the line.

* Bintrafusp alfa is bifunctional immunotherapy designed to combine a TGF-? trap with the anti-PD-L1 mechanism in one fusion protein.

* The drug was supposed to control tumor growth by enhancing or restoring anti-tumor responses in the immune system.

* Price Action: GSK stock is up 0.03% at $38.34 during the market session on the last check Thursday.