Nuvelo revises Archemix deal

Archemix and Nuvelo have expanded their anticoagulation drug development pact. Under the new agreement, Archemix will discover short-acting aptamers targeting the coagulation cascade, and Nuvelo will spearhead their development and commercialization. Nuvelo will make an up-front payment of $4 million, will fund Archemix' research in short-acting aptamers for the next three years, and may invest up to $10 million in Archemix when it goes public. The companies had previously collaborated on Archemix' thrombin inhibitor ARC183, which was dropped from clinical development due to low potency.