Lycera, Merck in autoimmune deal

Lycera Corp. (Plymouth, Mich.) and Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE:MRK) partnered to discover, develop and commercialize small molecules against the retinoic acid related orphan receptor ( ROR) gamma for autoimmune diseases. The companies will jointly discover candidates using Lycera's technology and conduct preclinical testing, and Merck will be responsible for all clinical development and worldwide commercialization. The partners will focus on rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and multiple sclerosis (MS). ...