Actelion and Merck formed an exclusive worldwide alliance in December 2003 to discover, develop and market new classes of renin inhibitors for patients suffering from cardio-renal diseases.
Through a joint committee, the two companies are collaborating on the development of products. R&D funding initially will be the responsibility of Actelion but the two companies will jointly fund phase II development, with Merck responsible for funding all phase III and outcome studies and commercialization.
The $5 million payment is the second milestone in the alliance. A first milestone of $15 million was achieved in March 2004 with the completion of the technology transfer, which provided Merck with unrestricted access to Actelion’s multiple renin inhibitor classes.
Renin inhibition is a novel pharmacological approach for the treatment of hypertension, renal failure, and vascular diseases. Renin plays a key role in the regulation of blood volume, arterial pressure, and cardiac and vascular function by serving as the first component of the renin-angiotensin system.