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news.Ra Pharmaceuticals has collaborated with Merck, referred to as MSD outside the US and Canada, for the development of Cyclomimetics targeting several therapeutic areas.
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The agreement will leverage Ra Pharmaceuticals’ Extreme Diversity platform for the development of peptide-like molecules with antibody diversity and specificity called Cyclomimetics.
Ra Pharmaceuticals co-founder, president and CEO Doug Treco said properties of cyclomimetics enable to target a property found in a range of disease indications called protein-protein interactions.
"The collaboration with Merck highlights the broad potential of our Extreme Diversity platform and provides us with the resources to strengthen and advance our core technology," Treco added.
As a part of the deal, Ra Pharmaceuticals is eligible for around $200m, including up-front and research funding in addition to discovery, development, regulatory and commercialization milestones.
Merck Research Laboratories drug discovery and preclinical sciences head Richard Tillyer said, "This agreement with Ra Pharmaceuticals underscores our strategy of collaborating with scientists who have developed innovative new technologies with the potential to complement and enhance our original research and product portfolio."
Diversity platform integrates in vitro display technology that does not need the use of bacterial or yeast host, a fully defined translation system and a range of non-natural amino acids.