**Merck & Co – known as MSD outside the US and Canada – has said it will be gaining exclusive global rights to Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals’ investigational cardiovascular disease (CVD) drug in a deal worth almost $2bn.**
The candidate, HRS-5346, is an oral small molecule Lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) inhibitor currently being evaluated in a mid-stage clinical trial in China.
Approximately 1.4 billion people worldwide have elevated levels of Lp(a), a type of lipoprotein that carries cholesterol, fats and proteins in the blood.
When Lp(a) builds up in the walls of blood vessels, it can form atherosclerotic plaques, potentially limiting blood flow to vital organs and resulting in conditions such as heart attack, stroke and other CVDs.
Dean Li, president, Merck Research Laboratories, said: “Elevated blood concentrations of Lp(a) provide a well-documented risk factor for atherosclerotic CVD… HRS-5346, an investigational oral small molecule inhibitor of Lp(a) formation, is an important addition that expands and complements our cardio-metabolic pipeline.”
CVDs, a group of disorders of the heart and blood vessels, are the leading cause of death globally, resulting in an estimated 17.9 million deaths each year.
The agreement, which is expected to close in the second quarter of this year, will give Merck an exclusive licence to develop, manufacture and commercialise HRS-5346 everywhere except the Greater China region.
In exchange, Hengrui will receive an upfront payment of $200m and will be eligible for milestone payments of up to $1.77bn, as well as royalties on net sales.
Commenting on the deal, Frank Jiang, executive vice president and chief strategy officer of Hengrui, said: “We believe Merck’s clinical expertise and global scale will help accelerate the development of HRS-5346 and potentially provide more patients with an additional option to reduce their risk of atherosclerosis.”
The agreement comes just three months after Merck [said](https://pmlive.com/pharma_news/merck-gains-rights-to-hansohs-preclinical-glp-1-candidate-in-deal-worth-2bn/) it would be gaining exclusive global rights to Hansoh Pharma’s preclinical GLP-1 candidate, HS-10535, in a deal worth over $2bn.
The company will aim to evaluate the drug and its “potential to provide additional cardio-metabolic benefits beyond weight reduction,” Li said at the time of the December announcement.