Denmark's Lundbeck buys rights to Merck & Co's antipsychotic Sycrest; enters deal with Genmab

Danish drugmaker Lundbeck A/S (LUND: DC) announced a worldwide commercialization agreement with US drugs giant Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK) for the latter’s antipsychotic drug Sycrest (asenapine) sublingual tablets (5mg, 10mg).

Under the terms of the deal, Lundbeck will pay an undisclosed fee as well as product supply payments in exchange for exclusive commercial rights to the drug in all markets outside the USA, China and Japan, which Merck will retain. Lundbeck expects to launch Sycrest in the European Union, where it is already approved, at the beginning of 2011. Merck has launched asenapine in the USA under the brand name Saphris.

Noting Lundbeck’s experience in the psychiatry sector as making it the ideal partner, Beverly Lybrand, senior vice president and general manager, neuroscience and ophthalmology, at the US firm, said: "Merck will continue to focus our efforts on marketing Saphris in the USA as part of our ongoing commitment to researching, developing and delivering medicines in the neurosciences disease area."