Allergan obtains exclusive rights to Merck’s migraine development programme
Allergan will be fully responsible for the development of two products, as well as manufacturing and commercialisation on approval and launch of the products
Allergan and Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, have entered into an agreement under which Allergan will acquire the exclusive worldwide rights to Merck's investigational small molecule oral calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonists, which are being developed for the treatment and prevention of migraine, subject to the expiration or termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (HSR).
Under the terms of the agreement, Allergan will acquire these rights for an upfront payment of US$250 million, $125 million of which is payable upon HSR clearance and $125 million of which is payable in April of 2016.
Merck will additionally be entitled to receive potential development and commercial milestone payments and tiered double-digit royalties based on commercialisation of the programmes.
Allergan will be fully responsible for the development of the CGRP programmes, as well as manufacturing and commercialisation on approval and launch of the products. The agreement gives Allergan rights to two CGRP receptor antagonists:
- MK-1602: an oral small molecule antagonist for the acute treatment of migraines; a phase 2 study of MK-1602 has been completed and end of phase 2 discussions with FDA are planned prior to initiating phase 3; a phase 3 study is expected to begin in 2016
- MK-8031: an oral small molecule antagonist for the prevention of migraines; a phase 2 study of MK-8031 is expected to begin in 2016.
‘The agreement to acquire exclusive worldwide rights to Merck's CGRP migraine development programme builds on our existing strength in neurosciences and helps to position Allergan as a potential leader in the acute treatment of migraine and prevention of migraine for millions of patients,’ said David Nicholson, Executive Vice President, Global Brands Research and Development at Allergan.
‘With two novel oral therapies in development to treat and prevent migraines, we have the opportunity to provide therapies that could alleviate an intensely debilitating and immobilising condition for patients worldwide. We look forward to supporting the continued development of these programmes and to potentially bringing these new therapies to market,’ he added.
‘We are pleased that this agreement will enable Allergan to advance these promising molecules for the potential benefit of migraine sufferers, and that Merck will be able to continue to further focus our research and development resources on our priority therapeutic areas,’ said Iain D. Dukes, Senior Vice President of Business Development and Licensing, Merck Research Laboratories.
