Merck enters licensing agreement with Santen Pharmaceutical

WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. Drug maker Merck & Co. has signed an agreement with a Japan-based pharmaceutical company to develop and market a drug for treating glaucoma and ocular hypertension.

Merck announced Wednesday that it had signed a licensing agreement with Santen Pharmaceutical Co. for the drug tafluprost. The drug is under investigation in the United States and has received approval in many European countries and Japan. It awaits approval in additional European and Asian countries. Santen markets the drug under the brand name Tapros in Japan and under the name Taflotan in Germany, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Norway.

Under the terms of the agreement, Merck will pay an undisclosed fee, milestones and royalty payments based on future sales of tafluprost in exchange for exclusive commercial rights to the drug in the Americas, Africa and Western Europe, except for Germany. Santen will retain rights to the drug in Eastern Europe, Northern Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, while Merck will provide promotion support to Santen in Germany and Poland. Santen will also have the option to co-promote tafluprost in the United States if the Food and Drug Administration approves it.

“Today’s announcement is an important milestone in the development and commercialization of tafluprost,” Santen president and CEO Akira Kurokawa said. “Through this licensing agreement with Merck, we are well-positioned to significantly expand our access to additional markets.”