Date: 2013-09-26
Type of information: R&D agreement
Compound: Nanobodies against a number of targets across multiple disease areas
Company: Ablynx (Belgium) Merck KGaA, Merck Serono (Germany)
Therapeutic area: Cancer - Oncology - Immunological diseases - Neurological diseases
Type agreement: R&D
Action mechanism:
Disease:
Details: * On September 26, 2013, Ablynx and Merck Serono, the biopharmaceutical division of Merck KGaA, have announced that they have further expanded their relationship through a multi-year research alliance that could lead to at least four co-discovery and co-development collaborations. Under the terms of the agreement, Merck Serono will fund a dedicated discovery group at Ablynx. Both partners will jointly select disease targets against which this group will develop Nanobodies, up to in vivo proof-of-principle. The dedicated group will focus on the discovery and development of Nanobodies against a number of targets across multiple disease areas. The collaboration will span all of Merck Serono\'s core research and development fields, including oncology, immuno-oncology, immunology and neurology.
In addition, depending on the successful achievement of in vivo proof-of-principle in sufficient programmes, Merck Serono will commit to taking at least four programmes forward with Ablynx in co-discovery and co-development arrangements. This co-development concept will extend the collaboration between both companies which started when they signed their first contract in 2008, followed by two additional agreements in 2010 and 2011. Further terms of the new agreement are not disclosed.
The first contract between Ablynx and Merck Serono was signed in 2008, at that point in time focusing on two targets in oncology and immunology, followed by a second contract in 2010, adding a new programme for an inflammatory diseases target. In November 2011, Ablynx and Merck Serono announced the further expansion of their relationship, entering into their third agreement to co-discover and co-develop Nanobodies against two targets in osteoarthritis.
Financial terms: The research alliance will have a term of four years, with the option to extend by two and a half years. Research funding from Merck Serono over the first four years will be over €25 million, including an initial payment of €11.5 million at signing, and will aim to ensure that the collaboration could deliver at least six programmes with proof-of-principle in a relevant animal model.
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