Search
 

Merck pays $20 million for cancer drug

The university will also be due royalties in the event that the experimental medication becomes a big money-maker.

By Jack Craver | Updated on March 24, 2016
Photo: Getty Images

For Harvard University, which boasts an endowment of over $37 billion, a $20 million contribution is appreciated, but far from a game-changer.  

Still, that’s the amount that Merck paid the ivy league institution to obtain the rights of a potentially revolutionary group of cancer drugs that campus researchers have been working on. It’s the biggest drug licensing deal that Harvard has ever entered.  

The university will also be due royalties in the event that the experimental medication becomes a big money-maker.  

Luke Zimmerman, a biotech analyst, applauded the deal as combining the best of academic and industry strengths.  

Pharmaceutical companies, he said, are often bad at developing the types of molecular compounds that Harvard researchers created after receiving a $28 million donation for the research four years ago.  

“Now, (Merck) will bring industry’s capacity to do what it does best — develop compounds with optimal properties, run well-designed clinical trials, and bring the manufacturing and marketing muscle necessary to get a good drug into the hands of doctors and patients,” he wrote.  

Such deals invite no shortage of controversy, since some do not like the idea of academia selling out to big business. But for a medical innovation to serve its intended purpose, Zimerman argued, “a handoff needs to occur at some point.”  

Drug companies, of course, are not held in particularly high esteem these days. While some of the “new kids on the block,” most notably Turin Pharmaceutical CEO Martin Shkreli, have made headlines with astronomical price increases for life-saving drugs, the mainstays of the industry, such as Merck, have also steadily hiked the prices of their medications at a rate well above inflation.    

Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to BenefitsPRO.com, part of your ALM digital membership.

Your access to unlimited BenefitsPRO.com content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:

  • Critical BenefitsPRO.com information including cutting edge post-reform success strategies, access to educational webcasts and videos, resources from industry leaders, and informative Newsletters.
  • Exclusive discounts on ALM, BenefitsPRO magazine and BenefitsPRO.com events.
  • Access to other award-winning ALM websites including ThinkAdvisor.com and Law.com

Already have an account?

NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.

Jack Craver

Recommended Stories

BenefitsPRO

Join BenefitsPRO

Don’t miss crucial news and insights you need to navigate the shifting employee benefits industry. Join BenefitsPRO.com now!

  • Unlimited access to BenefitsPRO.com - your roadmap to thriving in a disrupted environment
  • Access to other award-winning ALM websites including ThinkAdvisor.com and Law.com
  • Exclusive discounts on BenefitsPRO.com and ALM events.

Already have an account? Sign In Now
Join BenefitsPRO

Copyright © 2024 ALM Global, LLC. All Rights Reserved.