Merck & Co. has agreed to acquire Tilos Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutics targeting the latent TGF-beta (transforming growth factor beta) complex for the treatment of cancer, fibrosis and autoimmune diseases. The deal, worth up to US$773 M, gives Merck access to a range of anti-latency associated peptide (LAP) antibodies that prevent the release of TGF-beta, which is thought to play an important role in the development of cancer and fibrotic diseases, by stabilising the LAP-TGF-beta complex.