Cardiome, Merck deal
Merck will return all rights to develop and commercialize IV and oral formulations of atrial fibrillation (AF) product vernakalant to partner Cardiome, terminating an amended 2009 deal to develop and commercialize both formulations. The pharma received exclusive, worldwide rights to the oral formulation and exclusive rights to the IV formulation outside North America, where Astellas Pharma Inc. (Tokyo:4503, Tokyo, Japan) had rights under a 2003 deal with Cardiome. In 2011, Astellas transferred North American rights to the IV formulation to Merck. On a conference call on Sept. 26, Cardiome said Merck "made a business decision to elect to discontinue the franchise as it doesn't meet their specific strategic needs at this point in time." As part of the termination, Cardiome will no longer have access to a $100 million credit facility from Merck, $50 million of which has been drawn down. The companies are negotiating a transition plan, but declined to disclose details (see BioCentury, Oct. 20, 2003; April 13, 2009 & Aug. 1, 2011). ...