Merck closes SciBrunch KRAS licence worth up to US$2.13B

Worldwide rights to a preclinical KRAS G12D cancer drug will cost Merck & Co., Inc. NYSEMRK US$400 million upfront after it closed a licence with SciBrunch Therapeutics Co., Ltd., on Sept. 28. The announcement puts the transaction's total potential value at US$2.13 billion, including that upfront payment.

SciBrunch, a Shanghai drug developer, granted Merck exclusive rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize SPR2015 worldwide. Under the Sept. 28 agreement, the potential US$1.73 billion beyond the upfront payment depends on development, commercialization and other milestones across multiple indications. Merck's Sept. 28 announcement does not break out individual milestone amounts or give payment dates; it says the transaction has closed.

Merck is a Rahway, New Jersey drugmaker with human and animal health operations and a cancer drug pipeline.

Merck shares traded lower at US$147.79 at 10:21 a.m. EDT on Sept. 28 in New York, the NYSEMRK quote showed. Merck's Sept. 28 release says a US$400 million pre-tax charge, or about US$0.13 a share, will be included in third-quarter 2026 GAAP and non-GAAP results.

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SPR2015 Has Yet to Enter Human Testing

Merck's Sept. 28 release describes SPR2015 as an oral molecular-glue inhibitor targeting the active form of KRAS G12D, a mutation that keeps tumour-cell growth signals switched on. Merck said the compound showed nanomolar antiproliferative activity in KRAS G12D-mutant cell lines, with selectivity over cells carrying unmutated KRAS.

The company also reported antitumour activity when SPR2015 was given alone in cell-derived and patient-derived xenograft models presented at the 2026 AACR Annual Meeting. Those findings come from laboratory models. The Sept. 28 release provided no human efficacy or safety results.

"This agreement complements and diversifies our expanding pipeline of precision targeted candidates with SPR2015, a potent engineered inhibitor for one of the most prevalent mutant forms of KRAS found in human cancers," Merck Research Laboratories senior vice-president George Addona said in the release.

The Sept. 28 release did not identify the first cancer indication Merck will pursue with SPR2015 or set a first-in-human trial date. It describes US$2.13 billion as the deal's potential value, including payments tied to later development and commercialization milestones.

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Revolution Is Testing the Same Mutation in Phase 3

On June 23, Revolution Medicines, Inc. NASDAQRVMD said it had begun treating patients in a Phase 3 trial of zoldonrasib for RAS G12D-mutant metastatic pancreatic cancer. The oral drug is being tested with chemotherapy as a first-line treatment.

The randomized trial compares zoldonrasib plus investigator-selected chemotherapy with placebo plus chemotherapy; its primary endpoints are progression-free and overall survival. Revolution's June 23 release estimates RAS G12D occurs in 40 per cent of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cases. It describes zoldonrasib as a covalent RAS(ON) G12D inhibitor, a different design from Merck's molecular-glue candidate.

Revolution shares traded lower at US$202.51 on Nasdaq at 10:13 a.m. EDT on Sept. 28, the NASDAQRVMD quote showed. Revolution's June 23 trial announcement places its G12D candidate in human testing while Merck's Sept. 28 description leaves SPR2015 at the preclinical stage.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company NYSEBMY lists Krazati as a KRAS G12C inhibitor in its 2025 annual filing. G12C is a different mutation from the G12D target in Merck's new licence, so the products are at different points in development and address different molecular groups.

Merck's third-quarter earnings call is scheduled for Oct. 29; the company said its US$400 million pre-tax licence charge will be included in that quarter's GAAP and non-GAAP results.