Mestag Therapeutics, a biotech company harnessing new insights into fibroblast-immune interactions, has entered into a license and collaboration agreement with Merck & Co. to identify novel targets for the development of therapies against inflammatory diseases. 
 
Mestag will employ its Reversing Activated Fibroblast Technology (RAFT) platform purposely built to model the pathogenic role of fibroblasts in human disease, to identify novel drug targets. Merck has the option to license one or more targets, up to a prespecified number, and will be responsible for the discovery, development and commercialization of resulting therapeutics.

Under the agreement, Mestag will provide Merck options to obtain exclusive licenses to develop and commercialize therapeutics directed against a prespecified number of potential targets identified under the collaboration. In return Mestag will receive an upfront payment and access fees and will be eligible to receive option fees as well as downstream payments with the potential to total $1.9 billion.
 
“Mestag was founded on groundbreaking insights into fibroblast-immune biology, and as an early innovator in this area of research, we have built a robust pipeline of antibody programs and created a unique and productive target discovery platform,” said Susan Hill, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Mestag. “We are acutely aware of the significant unmet needs faced on a daily basis by patients suffering from inflammatory diseases. We are thrilled to collaborate with MSD, together driving continued innovation for the benefit of patients.”
 
Marc Levesque, MD, PhD, Vice President of Immunology Discovery, MSD Research Laboratories, added, “The role of activated fibroblasts in directing immune activity offers exciting new therapeutic potential.  We look forward to collaborating with the team at Mestag to identify new potential therapeutic options for patients with fibrosis and inflammatory diseases.”