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Business

Germany's Merck Sets New Licenses

by Patricia L. Short
November 3, 2008 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 86, Issue 44

Merck kGaA has taken two new licenses to beef up its pharmaceuticals pipeline. It has obtained an exclusive worldwide license from San Diego-based Lpath Inc. to develop and commercialize Asonep, a monoclonal antibody now undergoing Phase I clinical trials for various types of cancer. Merck Serono will provide Lpath up to $23 million in up-front payments and R&D funding to support Lpath's completion of the Phase I evaluation. Further payments could amount to another $450 million if Asonep is approved in multiple indications. The other licensing agreement, with Montreal-based Theratechnologies, covers U.S. rights to tesamorelin, a growth hormone-releasing factor analog being investigated in the U.S. for the treatment of excess abdominal fat in HIV patients with lipodystrophy. Theratechnologies will receive $30 million, which includes a license fee of $22 million and an equity investment of $8 million. Total payments could reach $215 million.

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