Merck, AstraZeneca Announce License Agreement for MK-1775

Merck

, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, and AstraZeneca

today announced a worldwide licensing agreement for Merck's oral small molecule inhibitor of WEE1 kinase (MK-1775). MK-1775 is currently being evaluated in Phase IIa clinical studies in combination with standard-of-care therapies for the treatment of patients with certain types of ovarian cancer. WEE1 helps to regulate the cell-division cycle. The WEE1 inhibitor MK-1775 is designed to cause certain tumor cells to divide without undergoing normal DNA repair processes, ultimately leading to cell death. Preclinical evidence suggests that the combination of MK-1775 and DNA damage-inducing chemotherapy agents can enhance anti-tumor properties, in comparison to chemotherapy alone.