Merus, a Netherlands-based biopharmaceutical company for human antibody therapeutics, has met the second milestone in its option agreement with Switzerland-based drugs maker Novartis’s corporate venturing unit.
Novartis Option Fund, part of the $850m Novartis Venture Funds team, will pay an undisclosed amount for the milestone.
In January 2010, Merus entered into a $200m option agreement with Novartis for an exclusive license to one of Merus’ cancer treatments as part of a €21.7m ($30m) series B round.
Novartis Option Fund along with US-based drugs peer Pfizer and venture capital firms Bay City Capital, LSP (Life Sciences Partners) and Aglaia Oncology Fund participated in the B financing.
In January 2006, raised an undisclosed amount in it’s A round from Aglaia.