Merck and InventisBio Ink a Partnership to Advance Clinical Development of Small-Molecule Cancer Drugs
August 10, 2026, Merck R&D (China) Co., Ltd. and InventisBio Co., Ltd. (or InventisBio), an innovative pharmaceutical company listed on the Science and Technology Innovation Board, simultaneously announced that they had signed a cooperation agreement to jointly promote the clinical development of small-molecule drugs in the field of oncology.
This signing follows the signing of a letter of intent between Merck R&D China Innovation Collaboration Center (MCICC) and InventisBio in May 2026, upgrading from an “intention” to a “formal agreement” in approximately three months. It is also
the fourth formal cooperation between MCICC and a domestic Chinese company since its establishment in 2024.
According to the disclosures by both parties, this collaboration will leverage the establishment of MCICC, combining InventisBio’s scientific insights and execution efficiency in small-molecule discovery for oncology with Merck’s systematic capabilities in global oncology clinical development and registration, to accelerate the advancement of candidate molecules from early clinical trials to global multi-center studies.
Dr. Zhengqing Li, Senior Vice President of Merck Global and President of Merck China R&D Center, stated that this collaboration will continue to support the transformation and internationalization of Chinese innovative achievements, “bringing Chinese innovation to benefit patients worldwide.”
Dr. Yueheng Jiang, Director, Vice President, and Board Secretary of InventisBio, expressed his expectation to leverage Merck’s deep expertise in oncology treatment, “to jointly accelerate project progress and strive to bring more valuable treatment options to patients worldwide.”
The specific names of the collaborating molecules, targets, rights and interests, and initial payments/milestone amounts have not yet been disclosed by either party. However, considering the timeline and pipeline pace, the collaboration will generally focus on InventisBio’s next-generation synthetic lethal pipeline – the highly selective WRN inhibitor YF087 (targeting MSI-H/dMMR solid tumors, accepted by the CDE in May 2026 and granted implied clinical approval in July). This pipeline best matches the publicly stated description of “small-molecule tumor therapy + clinical-stage collaboration.”
The possibility of future collaboration in combination with Merck’s PD-1 inhibitor Keytruda (pembrolizumab) cannot be ruled out.
InventisBio already has two small-molecule drugs approved for marketing: greaseracil (D-1553, KRAS G12C) and befotinib (EGFR), and is advancing its oral SERD D-0502 and WRN/KIF18A pipelines. It possesses a closed-loop capability from target screening to global multi-center clinical trials, which is precisely the quality that MCICC seeks during the process of screening “early-stage high-potential projects.”
Source: MCICC and InventisBio | Top Image: InventisBio
