Merck & Co and Idera in $455M collaboration to develop TLR agonist-based therapeutic vaccines

Idera Pharmaceuticals says it has entered into a broad research collaboration with fellow USA-based drugmaker Merck & Co. The firm explained that the accord will focus on the incorporation of its range of toll-like receptor agonists into therapeutic and prophylactic vaccines being developed by Merck as part of its oncology, infectious disease and Alzheimer's disease programs.

TLRs modulate immune response

Idera explained that TLRs function in human immune cells as pathogen sensors, which are capable of recognizing and stimulating an appropriate immune response to different microbial molecules that are present in bacteria, viruses and parasites. The company added that TLRs have become an attractive target for drugs which modulate the immune response because they are involved in the pathogenesis of a wide range of diseases.