Merck: Merck Signs Nearly $500 Million Licensing Deal With Austria-Based Cyprumed For Tablet-Based Peptide Delivery

Merck & Co Inc MRK and privately held Cyprumed GmbH signed a non-exclusive license and option agreement on Tuesday to develop oral formulations of Merck's peptides using Cyprumed's drug delivery technology . Cyprumed is a drug delivery technology company based in Innsbruck, Austria. The company focuses on developing technology platforms for the oral administration of therapeutic peptides, including GLP-1 analogs, macrocycles, and mini-proteins. Cyprumed's proprietary delivery platforms feature tablet formulations. Under the terms of the agreement, Merck gains non-exclusive global rights to Cyprumed's oral peptide delivery platform for an undisclosed number of targets. Also Read: Pharma Industry Faces Jitters As Trump Hints At Historic Tariffs, BofA Outlines Probable Timeline The agreement also grants Merck the option to license Cyprumed's technology for use with individual targets exclusively. Cyprumed will be eligible to receive up to $493 million in upfront, development, regulatory, and net sales milestones associated with the approval of any products under the collaboration. Cyprumed may receive additional payments if Merck exercises its Exclusive License Option. Under the agreement, the US drug giant will be responsible for the research, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of any product utilizing the Cyprumed delivery technology. "We look forward to collaborating with the Cyprumed team to leverage their technology to help advance our macrocyclic peptide development efforts," said Allen C. Templeton , vice president of pharmaceutical sciences at MSD Research Laboratories. Merck has two peptide therapies in development, including: Enlicitide decanoate (MK-0616) is a Phase 3 investigational inhibitor of Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9). The company has five listed studies running for the asset under the CORALreef program. Merck is developing enlicitide decanoate in partnership with UCB Pharmaceuticals . Efinopegdutide (MK-6024) is an investigational dual GLP-1/glucagon receptor agonist being developed under an agreement with Hanmi Pharmaceutical . Merck has four listed studies for the asset for Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis. In March, Merck and Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd entered into an exclusive license agreement for HRS-5346, an investigational oral small molecule Lipoprotein(a), or Lp(a), inhibitor currently being evaluated in a Phase 2 clinical trial in China . Lipoprotein (a), or Lp(a), is a type of lipoprotein produced in the liver that carries cholesterol, fats, and proteins in the blood. Price Action: MRK stock is down 1.63% at $77.88 at the last check on Tuesday afternoon. Photo: Shutterstock MRK Merck & Co Inc $78.20 -1.23 % Stock Score Locked: Want to See it? Benzinga Rankings give you vital metrics on any stock - anytime. Reveal Full Score Edge Rankings Momentum 18.94 Growth 98.02 Quality 72.31 Value 18.52 Price Trend Short Medium Long Overview Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs