Merck & Co gets rights to Cardiome's vernakalant, for as much as $600 million

US drug major Merck & Co has entered into a collaboration and license agreement for the development and commercialization of Canadian firm  Cardiome Pharma's vernakalant, an investigational candidate for the  treatment of atrial fibrillation. The deal gives Merck, which is in the  process of a $42.0 billion acquisition of fellow US company  Schering-Plough (Marketletters passim), with exclusive global rights to  the oral formulation of vernakalant for the maintenance of normal heart  rhythm in patients with atrial fibrillation. It also provides affiliate,  Merck Sharp & Dohme (Switzerland) GmbH, exclusive rights outside the  USA, Canada and Mexico to the intravenous formulation of the compound  for rapid conversion of acute atrial fibrillation to normal heart  rhythm.

"This agreement underscores Merck's ongoing commitment to the research  and development of new cardiovascular drugs," said Luciano Rossetti,  senior vice president and franchise head, atherosclerosis and  cardiovascular, Merck Research Laboratories. "Vernakalant is an  important addition to our broad portfolio of products and candidates  that target multiple aspects of heart disease," Dr Rossetti added.

$60 million upfront, as well as royalties   and milestones