Quotient Therapeutics Announces Collaboration with Merck to Discover Novel Drug Targets in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Using Somatic Genomics Platform Technology
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., March 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Quotient Therapeutics, a company pioneering somatic genomics to inform breakthrough medicines, today announced that it has entered a multi-year research collaboration agreement with Merck, known as MSD outside the US and Canada, 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.
“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.”
Under the terms of 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.
About Quotient
Quotient Therapeutics develops breakthrough medicines informed by natural somatic genetic diversity present in patients. Through our integrated somatic genomics and computational technologies, we gain unbiased, unprecedented resolution into disease-causal drug targets that we leverage to design and develop first-in-class therapies. With this, we are forging a new status quo for biopharma research and development through a broad pipeline of internal and partnered programs. We were founded by Flagship Pioneering in 2022. For more information, visit www.quotient-tx.com.
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