Merck & Co in new $300 million deal with Lycera

13 February 2013

USA-based drug developer Lycera Corp has announced a new agreement with US pharma giant Merck & CO (NYSE: MRK) - valued at $300 million - to discover, develop and commercialize small-molecule therapies directed to selected novel targets for the treatment of a broad range of immune-mediated disorders.

This new relationship between the two companies builds on a previous agreement (The Pharma Letter March 4,2011) that is focused on therapies targeting the retinoic acid related orphan receptor (RORyt), the key transcription factor coordinating both differentiation of T-helper 17 (Th17) cells and production of highly pro-inflammatory mediators such as interleukin-17 (IL-17).

Merck gains worldwide commercialization rights

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