Idera gets $4.3 million clinical milestone under its cancer drug deal with Merck KGaA

Massachusetts, USA-based Idera Pharmaceuticals says it has achieved a milestone of 3 million euros ($4.3 million) under its worldwide licensing and collaboration agreement with German drug major Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.

The payment follows the initiation of a Phase II trial by Merck of EMD 1201081, a novel agonist of Toll-like Receptor 9 (TLR9), in combination with cetuximab (Erbitux) in second-line cetuximab-naive patients with recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. The trial is being conducted in eight countries, including the USA.

'We are very pleased with Merck KGaA's initiation of this randomized Phase II clinical trial of EMD 1201081 in combination with cetuximab in patients with head and neck cancer,' said Alice Bexon, Idera's vice president of clinical development. 'Under our collaboration with Merck KGaA, the use of EMD 1201081 with cetuximab is an important step forward in the development of our novel TLR9 agonists in combination with selected targeted agents for the treatment of solid tumors,' she added.