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Print Edition StoriesTuesday, January 19, 2010
Idera nets $4.3M milestone pay from Merck
By Mass High Tech staff
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Idera Pharmaceuticals Inc. has reached a milestone under a deal it has with Merck & Co., entitling the Cambridge biotech to about $4.3 million in payments. The milestone relates to the beginning of a Phase 2 trial of Idera’s licensed Toll-like Receptor 9 (TLR9) agonist compound, called EMD 1201081, in combination with Merck’s cetuximab drug for the treatment of head and neck cancer.
Idera (Nasdaq: IDRA) will receive the milestone payment for the eight-nation trial during the first quarter of 2010.
Idera’s EMD 1201081 is also in Phase 1b clinical trials for treating non-small cell lung cancer, in combination with two drugs Tarceva and Avastin. It also is being tested in Phase 1b clinical trials as part of a treatment combination for colorectal cancer.
Idera entered into the licensing and collaboration deal with Merck, potentially worth more than $400 million, in December 2007. The agreement originally called for Merck to pay Idera an initial $40 million licensing fee and potential milestone payments of $381 million. In November, the two companies agreed to extend the deal through December 2010.
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