Merck furthers two partnerships
Monday September 12, 1:05 pm ET
Geron Corp. said Monday that Merck & Co. Inc. is exercising an option to purchase $18 million of Geron common stock.
In July, Merck (NYSE: MRK - News) and Geron (NASDAQ: GERN - News) entered into a partnership to jointly develop an experimental cancer vaccine. Under the terms of the licensing deal, Merck agreed to make an equity investment in Geron, which is located in Menlo Park, Calif.
Also on Monday, Vical Inc. announced it expanded its partnership with Merck.
Vical (NASDAQ: VICL - News) agreed to grant Merck renewable options for the right to use Vical's patented non-viral gene delivery technology for additional cancer vaccine targets.
In exchange, Vical obtained non-exclusive sublicensing rights to use the technology for vaccines against HIV, giving both companies freedom to operate in the field.
Specific financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Merck, based in Whitehouse Station, N.J., has a major research facility in West Point, Pa. Vical is located in San Diego.
Published September 12, 2005 by the Philadelphia Business Journal |
