In a sign of the growing rewards of drug licensing, Merck has agreed to shell out $25 million up front and up to $450 million more in milestones for a license to Neuromed's painkilling therapies, one of which is now in a mid-stage trial. Neuromed stands to gain $202 million if NMED-160 gains global regulatory approval and $450 million for a second approval for NMED-160 along with a second drug's approval for two uses.
Neuromed's therapy works by blocking pain signals. That's the same approach of Elan's Prialt, a therapy that has to be delivered via a catheter and implanted pump to avoid side effects. Merck--which has been looking for new therapies to replace Vioxx--is betting that Neuromed's oral delivery process will avoid the side effects while delivering protection from pain.
- read this New York Times article for more on the deal