AFMD vs MRK

Affimed N.V.

Affimed N.V., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on discovering and developing cancer immunotherapies in the United States, Europe, and Germany. Its lead product candidate is AFM13, which has completed Phase II clinical study of CD30-positive T-cell lymphoma, and hodgkin lymphoma (HL), as well as is in Phase II clinical trials for peripheral T-cell lymphoma, and transformed mycosis fungoides; that is in Phase I clinical study in combination with adoptive NK cells for CD30-postive lymphomas; and has completed Phase Ib clinical study in combination with anti-PD-1 antibody Keytruda (pembrolizumab) in patients with relapsed HL. The company is also developing AFM24, a tetravalent, bispecific epidermal growth factor receptor, and CD16A-binding innate cell engager, which is in Phase I/IIa clinical trials for the treatment of advanced cancer patients; and AFM26, an innate cell-engaging bispecific antibody targeting B cell maturation antigen (BCMA) for the treatment of multiple myeloma. The company has collaboration agreements with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center; Genentech, Inc.; Roivant Sciences Ltd.; and Roche Holding AG, as well as research funding agreement with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The company was formerly known as Affimed Therapeutics B.V. and changed its name to Affimed N.V. in October 2014. Affimed N.V. was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Heidelberg, Germany.

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.