Nicholas, Merck in drug development pactBS Reporter / Mumbai November 19, 2007Drug major Nicholas Piramal India (NPIL) has entered into a research and development (R&D) agreement with US-based pharmaceutical major Merck & Co to discover and develop new drugs. Merck has operations in India through its subsidiary MSD Pharmaceuticals. NPIL will carry out an integrated drug discovery programme through pre-clinical candidate selection, followed by Investigational New Drug (IND)-enabling non-clinical studies and human clinical trials. These would be mainly for oncology, the company said in a release issued to the BSE. Merck will have an option to advance the drug candidates into late stage clinical trials and commercialise them. NPIL will be eligible to receive milestone payments associated with progress in the development of drug candidates of up to $175 million per target, plus royalties on sales of any products resulting from the collaboration. Commenting on the agreement, NPIL Director (Strategic Alliances and Communications) Swati Piramal said:
