Merck, Abide in diabetes deal
Merck & Co. Inc.(NYSE:MRK) and Abide Therapeutics Inc. (Princeton, N.J.) partnered to discover, develop and commercialize small molecules against three serine hydrolase targets to treat metabolic diseases with a focus on Type II diabetes. The partners will jointly screen targets selected by a joint steering committee with Abide's small molecule library. Merck and Abide also will jointly conduct work through preclinical testing, after which Merck will be responsible for further development and commercialization. Abide is eligible for up to $430 million comprising an undisclosed upfront payment, research funding and milestones, plus royalties.
Abide has exclusive rights from The Scripps Research Institute to a chemical proteomic technology to identify selective inhibitors against serine hydrolases. Co-founder, President and CEO Alan Ezekowitz told BioCentury Abide chose Merck as a partner because of the "deep subject matter expertise" the pharma has developed with dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4), a serine hydrolase. Merck markets diabetes drug Januvia sitagliptin, a DPP-4 inhibitor (see BioCentury, Feb. 13, 2012). ...