Merck & Co milestone for Acumen Pharma

California, USA-based Acumen Pharmaceuticals, preclinical biotechnology company working in Alzheimer's therapeutics, says that its collaboration with Merck & Co has achieved a $5.0 million milestone in the antibody program.

The two companies signed a license agreement in 2003 for R&D on disease-modifying therapeutic drugs for Alzheimer's and other memory-related disorders. Under the terms of the original deal, Merck obtained an exclusive license to antibody products, an option to develop vaccines and certain diagnostic rights. In November, Merck amended the collaboration to include an exclusive license grant to Merck for the diagnostic-related rights.

"Merck is committed to developing disease modifying therapeutics for Alzheimer's. The Acumen collaboration has generated promising antibodies and we look forward to advancing them to the clinic," said Ken Koblan, vice president, neuroscience research at Merck Research Laboratories, adding: "collaborations with biotech companies continue to be a vital part of Merck's strategy."