Quotient Therapeutics, a company pioneering somatic genomics to inform breakthrough medicines, has entered a multi-year research collaboration agreement with Merck, to discover novel drug targets in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) using Quotient’s somatic genomics platform technology.

Somatic genetic mutations naturally accumulate over a lifetime, resulting in trillions of different genomes within an individual. Through its platform, Quotient interrogates patient tissue for these mutations within the context of disease to find mutations that cause or protect from that disease. These insights can inform novel therapeutic strategies for a broad range of diseases, including IBD.

Under the agreement, Quotient will receive an upfront payment of $20 million. Quotient is also eligible to receive development, regulatory and commercial milestones for a potential total deal value of up to $2.2 billion.

“The combination of Merck’s deep drug development and global commercial expertise with our unbiased, disease- and modality-agnostic somatic genomics platform could redefine how IBD is understood and treated,” said Rahul Kakkar, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Quotient. “We are proud to work alongside the world-class team at Merck, broadening the reach of our somatic genomics platform and bringing potentially breakthrough therapies to the patients in need.”

“Quotient’s platform has the potential to provide us with unique biological insights into genomic changes that are naturally occurring within patients with IBD. Millions of people globally are living with this disease, and no disease-modifying treatments are currently available,” said Dr. Marc Levesque, Vice President, Discovery, Merck Research Laboratories. “Immunology is a key area of focus for Merck, and we look forward to collaborating on this novel approach to target discovery to help us develop more effective therapeutic options for patients.”