Merck KGaA licenses Idera's TLR9 agonists

The USA's Idera Pharmaceuticals has entered into a worldwide licensing and collaboration agreement with German drugmaker Merck KGaA for the R&D and commercialization of the former's Toll-like Receptor 9 agonists for the treatment of cancer.

As part of the accord, Idera has agreed to exclusively license the therapeutic oncology applications, excluding cancer vaccines, of its lead TLR9 agonists, IMO-2055 and IMO-2125. In addition, the firms have agreed to engage in research to identify a specified number of novel, follow-on TLR9 agonists, which will be derived using Idera's chemistry-based approach and for which Merck will have the exclusive right to use in oncology applications other than cancer vaccines.

Under the terms of the agreement, Merck has agreed to pay an upfront license fee of $40.0 million, and Idera is also eligible to receive milestone payments of up to $381.0 million, depending on success in achieving clinical development and commercialization, as well as royalties on sales of any products developed and commercialized by Merck using IMO-2055, IMO-2125 or the follow-on TLR9 agonists.