By Colin Kellaher
Merck & Co. has agreed to license an investigational oral small molecule lipoprotein(a) inhibitor from Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals in a deal potentially worth more than $2 billion to the Chinese pharmaceutical company.
Merck on Tuesday said it will make an upfront payment of $200 million to Hengrui Pharma to license HRS-5346, which is currently in a Phase 2 study in China for the reduction of lipoprotein(a), or Lp(a), which can accumulate in blood vessel walls and result in conditions such as heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases.
The Rahway, N.J., drugmaker said Hengrui Pharma will be eligible to receive up to an additional $1.77 billion in payments associated with certain development, regulatory and commercial milestones, along with royalties on sales.
Merck said it will have exclusive rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize HRS-5346 worldwide, excluding the Greater China region.
Merck said it expects the deal, which complements its cardio-metabolic pipeline, to close in the second quarter, adding that it will book a charge of about 6 cents a share related to the transaction.
rite to Colin Kellaher at colin.kellaher@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 25, 2025 07:10 ET (11:10 GMT)
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