MRK vs VBLT

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.

Vascular Biogenics Ltd.

Vascular Biogenics Ltd., a clinical biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of treatments for cancer and immune/inflammatory indications. The company's program is based on its proprietary vascular targeting system platform technology, which utilizes genetically targeted therapy to destroy newly formed or angiogenic blood vessels. Its lead product candidate is VB-111, a gene-based biologic that is in Phase III clinical trials for the recurrent platinum-resistant ovarian cancer; and Phase II clinical trials treatment of recurrent glioblastoma and colorectal cancer, as well as has completed Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of thyroid cancer. It is also developing VB-511, an anti-angiogenic candidate for oncology; VB-211 and VB-411, which are pro-angiogenic candidates for the treatment of peripheral vascular diseases; and VB-703 for NASH and renal fibrosis. In addition, the company is developing VB-201, a Lecinoxoid-based product candidate to treat atherosclerosis that has completed Phase II clinical; and is in Phase II exploratory trials for COVID-19, as well as in pre-clinical stage for the treatment of NASH and renal fibrosis. It is also developing VB-601 for various inflammatory indications, and VB-611 for various solid tumors. The company was formerly known as Medicard Ltd. and changed its name to Vascular Biogenics Ltd. in January 2003. Vascular Biogenics Ltd. was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Modi'in, Israel.