Merck's initiation of IMO-2055 Phase 1b clinical trial in SCCHN triggers €3.0M milestone payment to Idera

Aug 27 2010

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: IDRA), today announced that it has achieved a milestone under its worldwide licensing and collaboration agreement with Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. The milestone was achieved upon Merck KGaA's initiation of a Phase 1b clinical trial of IMO-2055 (EMD 1201081), an agonist of Toll-like Receptor 9 (TLR9), in combination with cisplatin, fluorouracil and cetuximab (Erbitux^®) in first-line treatment of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN). Under the terms of the agreement, Idera is entitled to receive a payment of €3.0 million (approximately $3.8 million) from Merck KGaA.

“The first-line trial is in addition to the Phase 2 clinical trial announced earlier this year to evaluate IMO-2055 in second-line treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic SCCHN.”

"We are very pleased that Merck KGaA has initiated a clinical trial to evaluate IMO-2055 in the first-line treatment of patients with head and neck cancer," said Tim Sullivan, Ph.D., Idera's Vice President of Development Programs and Alliance Management. "The first-line trial is in addition to the Phase 2 clinical trial announced earlier this year to evaluate IMO-2055 in second-line treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic SCCHN."

SOURCE Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc.