Aeterna Zentaris, Merck KGaA sales and marketing update

Aeterna said it will transfer manufacturing rights for in vitro fertilization (IVF) drug Cetrotide cetrorelix acetate to marketing partner Merck Serono S.A., a division of Merck, in exchange for €2.5 million ($3.3 million). Aeterna will receive a monthly fee in exchange for providing transitional services for three years to assist Merck in assuming responsibility for manufacturing the luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) antagonist. The deal is expected to close Oct. 1. Merck Serono has worldwide rights, excluding Japan, to the product. In 2008, Aeterna sold to HealthCare Royalty Partners L.P, (Stamford, Conn.) its rights to royalties on future sales of Cetrotide covered under its deal with Merck for $52.5 million. Shionogi & Co. Ltd. (Tokyo:4507; Osaka:4507, Osaka, Japan) has rights in Japan (see BioCentury, Nov. 17, 2008). ...