Merck sells rights to Berger's disease candidate

9 November 2020

Germany’s Merck KGaA (MRK: DE) has out-licensed its investigational therapy atacicept to San Francisco, USA-based Vera Therapeutics, in return for a 10% equity stake in the firm.

Merck will also receive up to a total of $720 million, conditional on certain development and commercial milestones, plus royalties on any future net sales.

Vera will first prioritize taking atacicept into a Phase IIb study in IgA nephropathy (IgAN), an autoimmune kidney disease also known as Berger’s disease, which is planned to start in the second quarter of 2021.

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