As part of the agreement, Merck will receive a non-exclusive license to use the StabyExpress in research and product development while Delphi will receive milestone payments and royalties linked with the development of Merck product candidates that utilize the StabyExpress technology.
Delphi Genetics founder and CEO Cédric Szpirer said, "This is Delphi’s first broad-based licensing agreement that covers potential use of the StabyExpress™ technology for protein based product in the areas of human and animal health."
Guy Hélin CBO said this is the third licensing agreement announced with a healthcare company.
”The non-exclusive nature of this agreement enables us to consider similar collaborations with other strategic partners, including partners in other fields than biopharma production," Hélin added.
The technology can be used in any industrial protein production process that involves bacterial fermentation.
Delphi also signed licensing agreements with Sanofi-Pasteur in June 2009 and with GSK in September 2010.