On November 14, 2024, Merck and LaNova Medicines, a privately held clinical-stage biotechnology company, announced that they entered into an exclusive global license for Merck to develop, manufacture, and commercialize LM-299, a novel investigational bispecific antibody targeting both programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) that is currently in Phase 1 clinical trials in China. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati advised LaNova on the transaction.

Under the terms of the agreement, LaNova will receive an upfront payment of $588 million, and up to $2.7 billion in milestone payments related to LM-299's technology transfer, development, regulatory approval and commercialization across multiple indications.

The Wilson Sonsini team that advised LaNova on the transaction includes:

Technology Transactions
Alex Key
Miruna Predescu
Kexi Wang

Patents and Innovations
Karen Wong
Richard Wang

Antitrust and Competition
Kimberley Biagioli

For more information, please see Merck's news release. Additional coverage can be found on Reuters and Fierce Biotech.