Merck KGaA licenses rights to Apitope's MS drug candidate in $203M deal

Germany's Merck KGaA has signed an R&D and commercialization agreement with the UK's Apitope Technology, a wholly-owned subsidiary  of Belgian drug developer Apitope International NV. The latter has  granted Merck exclusive worldwide rights to ATX-MS-1467, a peptide  therapeutic that has completed an initial clinical study in multiple  sclerosis. The agent is designed to induce immunological tolerance of  the body's T-cells to key auto-antigens involved in the pathogenesis of  MS. Under the terms of the deal, Apitope will receive up to 154.0  million euros ($202.7 million) in upfront, development and  commercialization milestones, in addition to royalties. The UK firm will  be responsible for the further development of ATX-MS-1467 until Phase II  evaluations, at which stage Merck will take over. The German company  will also provide Apitope with funding for research on other  therapeutic peptides for MS. Further financial terms were not  disclosed.