HSTO vs MRK

Histogen Inc.

Histogen Inc., a clinical-stage therapeutics company, focuses on developing therapeutics based upon the products of fibroblast cells grown under simulated embryonic conditions. It offers HST-001, a hair stimulating complex that is in Phase 1b/2a clinical trial for the treatment of androgenic alopecia (hair loss); HST-003, a human extracellular matrix, which is in Phase 1/2 clinical trial to treat articular cartilage defects in the knee; and Emricasan, an orally active pan-caspase inhibitor that is in Phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of COVID-19. The company's pre-clinical programs include HST-004, a cell conditioned media (CCM) solution to treat spinal disc repair; and HST-002, a human-derived collagen and extracellular matrix dermal filler for the treatment of facial folds and wrinkles. Histogen Inc. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

Merck & Company Inc.

Merck & Co., Inc. operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health segments. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, diabetes, and women's health, as well as vaccine products. The Animal Health segment provides discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets a range of veterinary pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and health management solutions and services, as well as a suite of digitally connected identification, traceability, and monitoring products. The company has collaborations with AstraZeneca PLC; Bayer AG; Eisai Co., Ltd.; and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics. It serves drug wholesalers and retailers, hospitals, and government agencies; managed health care providers, such as health maintenance organizations, pharmacy benefit managers, and other institutions; and physicians and physician distributors, veterinarians, and animal producers. The company has collaboration agreement with Gilead Sciences, Inc. to co-develop and co-commercialize long-acting investigational treatment combinations of Lenacapavir and Islatravir in HIV; Amathus Therapeutics to develop treatments for neurodegenerative diseases; and Linnaeus Therapeutics, Inc. to evaluate LNS8801 in combination with KEYTRUDA for patients with advanced cancer. It also has a collaboration with Biomed X Gmbh for building on ongoing research projects in the fields of oncology (DNA damage response and RNA splicing) and autoimmunity (intestinal epithelial barrier in autoimmune diseases); and a collaboration agreement with NGM Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. to focus primarily on the development of novel medicines for unmet patient needs in retinal and CVM diseases, including heart failure. Merck & Co., Inc. was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Kenilworth, New Jersey.