Idera, Merck, Novartis deal

Idera (formerly Hybridon Inc.) said Novartis will terminate a 2005 deal to use Idera's immune modulatory oligonucleotide technology to discover and develop toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) agonists to treat asthma and allergies. Idera will regain exclusive, worldwide rights to IMO-2134 ( QAX935), a TLR9 agonist in Phase I testing to treat allergy. Idera said it believes deal termination was not due to safety or efficacy concerns. Novartis said it terminated the deal for strategic reasons related to its respiratory research program. There are no fees associated with the termination, which is final on Feb. 21, 2010 (see BioCentury, June 6, 2005). ...