Advinus/Merck & Co sign $74M R&D accord

Bangalore, India-based Advinus Therapeutics and US drug major Merck & Co have formed a drug discovery and clinical development collaboration in the area of metabolic disorders. The companies will work together to develop clinically-validated drug candidates for metabolic disorders, with Merck retaining the right to advance the most promising of these into late-stage clinical trials.

Under the terms of the deal, Advinus will receive an undisclosed upfront payment and could potentially get milestones of up to $74.5 million for each target included in the accord, as well as royalties on the sales of any resulting products. The collaboration will begin with two target programs, but could expand to include others over time, the firms noted.

Advinus is Merck's first Indian partner. The company is just 18 months old but already has a work force of 65 scientists and, as a result of the Merck deal, will increase its research staff three-fold to 150 scientists. Advinus stressed that it is solely focused on pharmaceutical R&D with no concerns in generics or active pharmaceutical ingredients.