Merck (MRK) Buys Rights to Anti-tau Antibody for Alzheimer
Merck & Co., Inc. MRK announced that it has bought exclusive worldwide license from Teijin Pharma for the development, manufacture and commercialization of an investigational preclinical anti-tau antibody.
Merck sees potential in the development and commercialization of the candidate for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other neurological diseases. The company will make an undisclosed upfront payment to Teijin Pharma, which is also eligible to receive development, regulatory and sales milestone payments. Further, Teijin Pharma will receive royalties on product sales and retains an option to co-promote an approved product in Japan.
Merck’s shares are up 10.4% year to date, comparing unfavorably with an increase of 10.7% witnessed by the Zacks classified Large-Cap Pharma industry.
The addition of the anti-tau-antibody to its portfolio will complement Merck’s other AD candidates. This includes MK-6240, a tau ligand which is currently being assessed as a potential Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging agent for quantifying the brain burden of neurofibrillary tangle pathology in people with AD. Merck is also is evaluating verubecestat (MK-8931), a BACE1 inhibitor, to see if it can slow or stop the progression of AD.
Notably in Apr 2017, Biogen Inc. BIIB announced that it has inked a deal to buy worldwide rights for Bristol-Myers Squibb’s BMY anti-tau antibody, BMS-986168, for an upfront payment of $300 million.
Biogen sees significant potential in the development and commercialization of BMS-986168 for the treatment of both AD and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). The deal is anticipated to be closed in the second quarter of 2017.
BMS-986168 is an antibody targeting extracellular tau, which is a protein that deposits in the brain associated with AD and other neurodegenerative tauopathies such as PSP. Biogen plans to soon initiate phase II studies for BMS-986168 in both AD and PSP.
However, we want to remind investors that in Feb 2017, the EPOCH study for Merck’s verubecestat was stopped after an interim analysis by an external Data Monitoring Committee (eDMC) indicated that the study might fail. While the EPOCH study was stopped due to lack of efficacy, another study, APECS, continues as the eDMC noted that the safety signals observed in the other study were not enough to stop APECS.
In a separate release, Merck also announced that it will collaborate with Optum, the health services business of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated UNH, to advance value-based contracting of pharmaceuticals. Under outcomes-based risk sharing agreements (OBRSAs), health plans & other payers, the companies will reimburse drug manufacturers on basis of clinical outcomes achieved. Optum and Merck plan to publicly share analytic insights, findings and recommendations to help inform and facilitate the understanding and use of pragmatic approaches to OBRSAs in the health care system.
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Merck currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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