Ablynx and Merck & Co. have partnered again in a potential €1.7 B (US$2.3 B) deal to discover and develop cancer immunotherapeutics based on Ablynx’s Nanobody® technology. The collaboration will focus on the discovery and development of several predefined Nanobodies (including bi- and tri-specifics) against immune checkpoint modulator proteins. The two companies have an ongoing collaboration to discover Nanobodies directed against a voltage-gated ion channel in neurology. Merck is already active in the cancer immunotherapy field thanks to its late-stage PD-1 (programmed cell death-1) inhibitor MK-3475.