MRK

Health IT

Merck’s partnership with PatientsLikeMe could offer innovative way forward for drug development

Big pharma company Merck (NYSE:MRK) has formed a collaboration with an online patient community platform to measure the impact of psoriasis on patients and develop ways to improve outcomes in a sign that pharmaceutical companies are seeing the value in these communities for drug development, according to a company statement. Under the agreement,PatientsLikeMe will work […]

Pharma

Merck boosts HIV drug portfolio in two licensing deals

  Merck (NYSE:MRK) has acquired a late-stage drug to treat HIV infection in a licensing deal valued at more than $168 million. It also acquired an early stage drug from a Japanese pharmaceutical group for an undisclosed amount. The deal gives the Whitehouse Station, New Jersey pharmaceutical company a novel lipid acyclic nucleoside phosphonate, CMX157, that’s […]

Hospitals

Merck to collaborate with health system on patient adherence tools

Merck (NYSE:MRK) and Geisinger Health System have initiated a collaboration to develop healthcare IT programs to improve patient adherence and help primary care physicians identify risk factors for certain diseases. It’s an unusual move for Merck, because of the structure and duration of the program. Other companies like Janssen and Sanofi have initiated competitions with […]

Pharma

Merck research center brings together scientists, entrepreneurs, VCs

Merck (NYSE:MRK) has launched a nonprofit translational research center in San Diego in a move that reflects the dizzy heights of the patent cliffs some Big Pharma companies are facing. The company is planning to spend up to $90 million over seven years on the California Institute for Biomedical Research, or Calibr. The institute will be led by Dr. Peter G. Schultz, who has a reputation as a world-renowned chemist and biotechnology entrepreneur, the company statement said.

Pharma

FDA delays approval for Merck’s combo cholesterol drug

U.S. regulators have issued a complete response letter to Merck (NYSE:MRK), which delays the approval of its new drug application for ezetimibe and atorvastatin tablets, an investigational combination medicine. According to a statement from the pharmaceutical giant, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said additional data was needed, an issue the company said it will […]

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Pharma

Merck tries new approach to treat insomnia

Merck (NYSE: MRK) is to file a new drug application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration following successful Phase III clinical trial results. The Whitehouse Station, New Jersey pharmaceutical company’s drug, Suvorexant, generated positive results in clinical trials that sought to prove the efficacy of the drug. Peter S. Kim, president of Merck Research […]

News

Merck’s $430M bid for Inspire followed a 2009 offer

Inspire Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ISPH) CEO Adrian Adams joined the North Carolina company in the winter of 2010 with goals of expanding its business beyond eye products and commercializing a breakthrough cystic fibrosis treatment. In January, one month shy of Adams one-year anniversary at Inspire’s helm and days removed from announcing a failed clinical trial on the […]

Pharma

Merck to buy Inspire Pharmaceuticals for $430M

Merck (NYSE:MRK) is acquiring Raleigh, North Carolina-based Inspire Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ISPH) for $430 million under a definitive agreement announced Tuesday. Under the agreement, a Merck subsidiary will commence a tender offer for all outstanding shares of Inspire at a price of $5 per share cash. That’s 26 percent more than Inspire’s April 4 close of $3.98. […]