US pharmaceutical company Merck & Co Inc (NYSE:MRK), known as MSD outside the US and Canada, announced on Tuesday that it has completed the acquisition of CN201, an investigational B-cell depletion therapy, from Curon Biopharmaceutical.

CN201 has potential applications in B-cell malignancies and autoimmune diseases.

CN201 is currently being studied in clinical trials for the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and B-cell acute lymphocytic leukaemia. Preliminary data suggest that it is well-tolerated and may lead to significant reductions in B-cell populations.

Merck acquired full global rights to CN201 for approximately USD750m. This acquisition strengthens Merck's pipeline of potential treatments for B-cell associated diseases.