Merck Serono's EPP funds EspeRare Foundation, which will reposition rimeporide

Merck Serono, the biotech unit of Germany’s Merck KGaA (MRK: DE) has announced the launch of the EspeRare Foundation, a non-profit organization set up by three Merck Serono employees, in the framework of the Merck Serono Entrepreneur Partnership Program (EPP). Merck Serono will donate an initial 2.8 million euros ($3.7 million) funding to the EspeRare Foundation.

In addition, Merck Serono will transfer the rights of rimeporide, a compound previously developed for heart failure by Merck. The Foundation will investigate this compound in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a lethal genetic rare disease affecting one in every 3,600 males.

"The EspeRare Foundation is the first initiative of its kind in the framework of the EPP. It is the result of our employees’ determination to develop a unique operating model for the benefit of patients suffering from rare diseases, a field with high unmet needs and hardly no treatments available ," said François Naef, chairman of the board of directors of Merck Serono, adding: "The Foundation will play a central role by pioneering a collaborative system that brings together the right stakeholders to explore the therapeutic value of existing compounds, ultimately accelerating the R&D process in rare diseases."