Merck buys rights to Nycomed’s potential treatment for chronic lung condition

Merck buys rights to potential chronic lung drug

WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. — Drugmaker Merck & Co. has bought rights to help market what would be the first anti-inflammatory pill for a chronic lung condition, just a few days after European regulators recommended approval there.

The deal gives Merck rights to jointly market Nycomed’s Daxas for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Canada and several European countries. Merck also gets an exclusive distribution deal in the United Kingdom.

If approved, Daxas would be the first drug in a new class of treatments for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which includes bronchitis and emphysema. The pill, taken once a day, blocks an enzyme involved in the lung disorder and related inflammatory diseases. Patients now take inhaled medicines that reduce inflammation and open up lung passages.