Idera and Merck extend research collaboration

Idera Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Cambridge said that Merck & Co. Inc., the New Jersey-based drug maker, has extended its research collaboration with Idera for an additional year.

"Our two-year research collaboration with Merck scientists has been very productive and has created several novel agonists of TLR7 and TLR8 for potential use in vaccine products," Sudhir Agrawal, Idera's chief executive and chief scientific officer, said in a statement. "We are looking forward to a productive third year of the collaboration to fully capitalize on the accomplishments from the first two years."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)