Merck & Co to acquire insulin developer SmartCells in deal that could exceed $500 million

US drug giant Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK) says it has entered into a definitive agreement under which it will acquire SmartCells, a private company developing a glucose responsive insulin formulation for the treatment of diabetes mellitus, that could eventually earn the latter more than $500 million.

"Maintaining control of blood glucose levels represents a daily challenge for people living with diabetes," said Nancy Thornberry, senior vice president and head, diabetes and obesity franchise, Merck Research Laboratories. "Through the acquisition of SmartCells we have obtained innovative technology that may enable us to develop glucose-responsive insulins. If this investigational technology is ultimately approved for use with patients, it could provide an important new therapy for the treatment of diabetes. This holds the potential to significantly impact the treatment of this disease," she added.

Merck is already well positioned in the diabetes treatment market, with top-selling drugs Januvia (sitagliptin) and Janumet (metformin and sitagliptin) generating combined turnover of $847 million during the third quarter of this year, a year-on-year rise of 28%. Also, although there has not been much reported on the product, Merck has MK 3102, a small-molecule drug, in Phase II development. However, the giants of the insulin sector are Denmark’s Novo Nordisk, France’s Sanofi-Aventis and US drugmaker Eli Lilly.