In a move to bolster its immuno-oncology portfolio, Merck & Co. has agreed to partner with Artiva Biotherapeutics to develop chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)- natural killer (NK) cell therapies targeting solid tumour-associated antigens. The deal, which is worth up to US$1.9 B, will give Merck access to Artiva’soff-the-shelf allogeneic NK cell manufacturing platform, along with its CAR-NK technology. For Artiva, the deal comes two months after it signed its first deal with Affimed to develop off-the-shelf NK cell combination therapeutics.