Merck acquires Yale-spinout Modifi Bio in $1.3B deal

PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED Dr. Ranjit Bindra, co-founder and CEO of Modifi Bio in New Haven

Write a Comment

Modifi Biosciences, a New Haven startup biotech that focuses on developing cancer therapies, has been acquired by biopharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. Inc. in a $1.3 billion deal, the companies announced Wednesday.

Under terms of the agreement, Merck, through a subsidiary, has acquired all outstanding shares of Modifi Biosciences for an up-front payment of $30 million. Modifi Bio shareholders are also eligible to receive potential milestone payments totaling up to $1.3 billion.

The companies did not say how many people are employed by Modifi Bio, how many will remain with the company, or whether Modifi Bio will be rebranded.

A Yale University spinout founded in 2021 and based at the Elm City Bioscience Center at 55 Church St., in New Haven, Modifi Bio is working to develop drugs that target DNA repair defects associated with tumors. Some cancer cells lack expression of a key DNA repair protein called MGMT, or methylguanine methyl transferase, according to the company. Modifi Bio aims to develop drugs that target these cancer cells.

According to Yahoo Finance, Modifi had raised $10.7 million in seed funding to date. Investors
include Connecticut Innovations, HighCape Capital, Ironwood Capital, Yale Ventures and the Brain Tumor Investment Fund, an affiliate of the National Brain Tumor Society.

A Merck spokesperson said the acquisition builds on Merck’s decades of progress in cancer care, particularly in precision oncology therapeutics.

Modifi Bio’s co-founder Dr. Ranjit S. Bindra said the acquisition by Merck recognizes “the potential of our science, and as an oncology company, they are perfectly positioned to advance our innovations through clinical trials and commercialization.”