Merck to acquire privately held biopahrmaceutical company Tilos Therapeutics

Merck announced that it will acquire Tilos Therapeutics for $773 million and will make contingent milestone payments.

Tilos Therapeutics is involved in targeting TGF-beta complex, targeting autoimmune disorders, fibrosis and cancer.

Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund and Partners Innovation Fund founded Tilos Therapeutics. ShangPharma provided additional innovation fund.

TGF-beta and LAP:

TGF-beta is a cytokine. It is expected to have a major role in the development of cancer and fibrosis. Along with protein, it forms latency associated peptide. TGF-beta blockers prevent the release of TGF-beta from LAP resulting in reduced TGF-beta activity.