Exclusive, two-year deal may be extended, and Celera could develop related theranostics.
Celera has agreed to provide Merck & Co. with access to up to 10 cancer targets for the development of RNAi-based therapeutics.
Under the terms of the two-year exclusive license agreement, Celera will receive a license fee, success-based milestones, plus royalties. Merck has the option to extend the exclusivity period or add additional targets. Celera will be able to develop and commercialize related companion diagnostics.
The targets covered in this agreement are overexpressed on the surface of several different tumor cell types, according to Celera. They were identified with the firm’s proteomics discovery platform.
