BioCentury
ARTICLE | Company News

Merck, AstraZeneca shuffle JV

February 29, 2008 2:36 AM UTC

Merck (NYSE:MRK) will receive a net payment of about $2.6 billion this quarter from AstraZeneca (LSE:AZN; NYSE:AZN) under a restructuring of the companies' Astra Merck JV, which markets AstraZeneca's drugs in the U.S. Merck will receive about $4.3 billion for relinquishing rights to four of the JV's drugs: Toprol-XL metoprolol to treat hypertension, angina and heart failure; asthma drugs Pulmicort budesonide and Symbicort budesonide/formoterol; and Rhinocort budesonide to treat non-infectious rhinitis and nasal polyps. Merck will pay AstraZeneca about $240 million to correct past overpayments of royalties under the agreement, which began in 1998. Merck also will repay a $1.4 billion loan to AstraZeneca.

Merck chose not to exercise an option to relinquish rights to four other marketed drugs: Atacand candesartan cilexetil to treat hypertension and heart failure; Lexxel enalapril/felodipine ER to treat hypertension; Plendil felodipine; and Entocort budesonide to treat Crohn's disease. Merck also retained rights to four of the JV's compounds that are in clinical development: AZD6140, an adenosine diphosphate (ADP) receptor (P2Y12) antagonist in Phase III testing to treat arterial thrombosis; AZD3355, a GABA B receptor agonist in Phase II testing to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD); AZD0328, a selective neuronal nicotinic receptor agonist in Phase I testing to treat Alzheimer's disease; and AZD2327, a enkephalinergic receptor modulator in Phase I testing to treat anxiety and depression. ...