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Print Edition StoriesWednesday, November 25, 2009
Idera, Novartis deal ends; Merck deal extended
By Mass High Tech Staff
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Idera Pharmaceuticals Inc. has seen one research collaboration agreement with Novartis get terminated while it extended another deal with Merck & Co. Inc. The Novartis deal had been going on for four years and brought Idera $6 million in upfront and milestone payments.
The deal with Novartis had Cambridge-based Idera (Nasdaq: IDRA) supplying a license to its TLR9 agonist compounds, and specifically IMO-2134 for treating asthma and allergies by intranasal delivery. The compound had moved into Phase 1 trials, which triggered the most recent milestone payment from Novartis.
As a result of the end of the research agreement, which will happen Feb. 21, 2010, all rights to IMO-2134 will revert back to Idera with no financial obligations to Novartis and Idera will no longer be subject to restrictions on its right to develop its TLR-targeted compounds, including its TLR antagonists and TLR antisense oligonucleotides, for respiratory diseases.
The Merck deal was launched in December 2006 and had the companies collaborating on vaccine products containing the Idera’s investigational agonist compounds targeting toll-like receptors (TLRs) 7, 8, and 9 in the fields of oncology, infectious diseases, and Alzheimer’s disease. The extension carries the collaboration through December 2010.
Last month Idera announced it had launched a Phase 1 clinical trial using the company’s Hepatitis C drug target, known as IMO-2125 in combination with another treatment called ribavirin.
For 2008, Idera earned $1.5 million on revenue of $26.4 million.
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