Ambrilia and Merck & Co in HIV PI deal

Canadian drugmaker Ambrilia Biopharma and US pharmaceutical major Merck & Co say that they have signed a licensing deal under which Merck receives exclusive worldwide rights to Ambrilia's HIV/AIDS protease inhibitor development program.

Under the terms of the agreement, the Canadian firm has granted Merck rights to its lead developmental compound, PPL-100, which is currently in a Phase I repeat-dose assessment, having already completed a single-dose pharmacokinetic study. In return, the US major will provide a $17.0 million upfront fee, and will be required to make further payments of up to $215.0 million upon the successful completion of developmental, regulatory and sales milestones.

The firms added that, when the current Phase I trial is completed, all subsequent development and study costs pass to Merck, which also has certain rights to back-up any related compounds.