Blackstone Pays Merck $700M to Fund Development of Antibody-Drug Conjugate
Blackstone Life Sciences is providing $700 million to Merck to fund the development of sacituzumab tirumotecan (sac-TMT), an investigational antibody-drug conjugate.
The funding will support development costs through 2026 and is non-refundable, with certain termination conditions.
Merck retains full control over development, manufacturing, and commercialization of sac-TMT.
Blackstone will receive low-to-mid single-digit royalties on net sales if sac-TMT receives U.S. regulatory approval for first-line triple-negative breast cancer based on the TroFuse-011 trial.
Merck is currently evaluating sac-TMT in 15 global Phase 3 clinical trials across six tumor types, including breast, endometrial, and lung cancers.