Archemix to partner with Merck KGaA
Archemix Corp. of Cambridge and German drug giant Merck KGaA will collaborate on aptamer-based cancer treatments.
Archemix said today it has signed a multi-year agreement with Merck KGaA that focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of aptamer-based therapeutics to treat cancer.
Under the agreement, Archemix said it will receive an upfront payment and committed research funding of as much as $10 million.
Archemix specializes in aptamers, short strings of nucleic acid customized to bind to proteins that cause disease, thereby disrupting the symptoms and the progression of the disease.
"This is the fourth major partnership we have formed over the past six months and is consistent with our strategy to enable partners to leverage aptamers as drugs on a target-by-target basis," Archemix chief executive Errol De Souza said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)
