Merck & Co. Inc. acquired Calporta Therapeutics Inc. for an up-front payment and milestone payments that could total $576 million. Calporta is a build-to-buy spinout of La Jolla, Calif.-based COI Pharmaceuticals Inc. Calporta develops selective small-molecule agonists to TRPML1, foremost in the mammalian mucolipin TRP channel subfamily.