Merck inks diabetes deal with fledgling Marcadia

Fledgling developer Marcadia Biotech has lined itself up with the pharmaceutical giant Merck in a licensing deal on the Indianapolis-based developer's work in diabetes. Marcadia has been working with the research of Dr. Richard DiMarchi, who moved to Indiana University's chemistry department after working at Eli Lilly. Merck has gained rights to some of Marcadia's drug candidates and is putting up an unspecified amount of money for collaborative research and milestone payments.

"Marcadia has generated a unique collection of peptide drug candidates with potentially novel therapeutic attributes," said Merck's Senior Vice President Luciano Rossetti M.D. "This latest collaboration underscores our strategy to establish a robust early-stage pipeline that delivers superior diabetes and obesity therapies."

- here's the press release
- read the report from the Indianapolis Business Journal

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