ALXO vs MRK

ALX Oncology Holdings Inc.

ALX Oncology Holdings Inc., a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company, focuses on developing therapies for patients fighting cancer. Its lead product candidate is ALX148, a CD47 blocking therapeutic that is in Phase 1b/2 clinical trial used for the treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes; and for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, as well as a range of solid tumor indications, including head and neck squamous cell; human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) positive gastric/gastroesophageal junction carcinoma; and HER2-expressing breast cancer. The company's pre-clinical products include SIRPa TRAAC that offers ways to engage the innate and adaptive immune response to cancer. ALX Oncology Holdings Inc. has a collaboration agreement with Merck for a Phase 2 trial evaluating ALX148 in combination with pembrolizumab with and without chemotherapy in patients with head and neck cancer; Zymeworks on a Phase 1 trial evaluating ALX148 with the HER2-targeting bispecific antibody zanidatamab in patients with advanced HER2-expressing breast cancer and other solid tumors; and Tallac Therapeutics for the development, manufacturing and commercialization of a novel class of cancer immunotherapeutics. It also has a license agreement with Selexis SA and Crystal Bioscience, Inc. The company was incorporated in 2015 and is based in Burlingame, California.

Merck & Company Inc.

Merck & Co., Inc. operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health segments. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, diabetes, and women's health, as well as vaccine products. The Animal Health segment provides discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets a range of veterinary pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and health management solutions and services, as well as a suite of digitally connected identification, traceability, and monitoring products. The company has collaborations with AstraZeneca PLC; Bayer AG; Eisai Co., Ltd.; and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics. It serves drug wholesalers and retailers, hospitals, and government agencies; managed health care providers, such as health maintenance organizations, pharmacy benefit managers, and other institutions; and physicians and physician distributors, veterinarians, and animal producers. The company has collaboration agreement with Gilead Sciences, Inc. to co-develop and co-commercialize long-acting investigational treatment combinations of Lenacapavir and Islatravir in HIV; Amathus Therapeutics to develop treatments for neurodegenerative diseases; and Linnaeus Therapeutics, Inc. to evaluate LNS8801 in combination with KEYTRUDA for patients with advanced cancer. It also has a collaboration with Biomed X Gmbh for building on ongoing research projects in the fields of oncology (DNA damage response and RNA splicing) and autoimmunity (intestinal epithelial barrier in autoimmune diseases); and a collaboration agreement with NGM Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. to focus primarily on the development of novel medicines for unmet patient needs in retinal and CVM diseases, including heart failure. Merck & Co., Inc. was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Kenilworth, New Jersey.