Merck to Acquire Oncolytic Immunotherapy Developer Viralytics for $394M

Merck & Co. has agreed to acquire Sydney-based Viralytics for approximately A$502 ($394 million), the companies said today, in a deal that expands the buyer’s immuno-oncology pipeline with a mid-stage oncolytic immunotherapy that has already shown positive clinical data in combination trials.Cavatak® (coxsackievirus Type A21, or CVA21), Viralytics’ lead product, is designed to preferentially bind to receptor proteins highly expressed on multiple cancer types, in order to kill