Merck pays $4B upfront for rights to 3 Daiichi ADCs in huge bet on post-Keytruda future

Merck & Co. has secured a seat at the productive Daiichi Sankyo antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) factory. While AstraZeneca picked up the first two ADCs off the production line, its rival and collaborator Merck is paying $4 billion upfront to co-develop Daiichi’s next three prospects.