{"entity":{"id":"velosbio","kind":"company","name":"VelosBio","aka":["VelosBio Inc."],"tldr":"VelosBio was a privately held company that developed VLS-101, now zilovertamab vedotin, an antibody that carries a drug to cancer cells carrying a protein called ROR1. Merck bought it in 2020.","summary":"VelosBio Inc. was a privately held clinical-stage company in San Diego developing cancer therapies aimed at ROR1 (receptor tyrosine kinase-like orphan receptor 1). Its lead candidate, VLS-101, an antibody-drug conjugate against ROR1, was in a phase 1 trial in blood cancers and a phase 2 trial in solid tumours when Merck agreed on 5 November 2020 to buy the company for USD 2.75 billion in cash, subject to customary adjustments. Merck's annual report for 2020 records the acquisition as completed in December 2020, for USD 2.8 billion, and gives VLS-101 its Merck code, MK-2140; it is now called zilovertamab vedotin.","asOf":"2026-11-03","links":[{"label":"Merck to acquire VelosBio (5 November 2020)","url":"https://www.merck.com/news/merck-to-acquire-velosbio/"},{"label":"Merck Form 10-K for 2020: VelosBio acquired in December 2020","url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/310158/000031015821000004/mrk-20201231.htm"}],"tags":[],"related":[],"cancers":[],"sections":["adcs"],"technologies":["adc"],"targets":["ror1"],"drugs":["zilovertamab-vedotin"],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":["San Diego is from the announcement's dateline and VelosBio's Form D filings with the SEC. The exact completion day in December 2020 was not stated in the 10-K and is not given. No cancer is linked because the announcement names only blood cancers and solid tumours in general. No website or founding year is recorded."],"hq":"San Diego, CA","country":"US","companyType":"biotech","stage":"acquired","investors":[],"funding":[{"round":"Acquisition","year":2020,"amountUsd":2750000000,"source":"https://www.merck.com/news/merck-to-acquire-velosbio/","note":"Merck's announcement of 5 November 2020: USD 2.75 billion in cash, subject to customary adjustments; Merck's 2020 Form 10-K records completion in December 2020 at USD 2.8 billion"}],"acquiredBy":"merck"},"route":"/companies/velosbio/","neighbours":{"section":[{"id":"adcs","kind":"section","name":"Antibody-Drug Conjugates","route":"/fronts/adcs/"}],"technology":[{"id":"adc","kind":"technology","name":"Antibody-drug conjugate (ADC)","route":"/technologies/adc/"}],"target":[{"id":"ror1","kind":"target","name":"ROR1","route":"/targets/ror1/"}],"drug":[{"id":"zilovertamab-vedotin","kind":"drug","name":"Zilovertamab vedotin","route":"/drugs/zilovertamab-vedotin/"}],"company":[{"id":"merck","kind":"company","name":"Merck & Co. (MSD)","route":"/companies/merck/"}]}}