Lundbeck and Merck sign Sycrest agreement

H. Lundbeck and Merck & Co have signed a commercialisation agreement for Sycrest (asenapine) sublingual tablets (5mg, 10mg).

H. Lundbeck and Merck & Co have signed a commercialisation agreement for Sycrest (asenapine) sublingual tablets (5mg, 10mg). The drug is used to treat moderate to severe manic episodes associated with bipolar 1 disorder in adults.

Under the terms of the agreement, Lundbeck of Denmark will pay an undisclosed fee as well as product supply payments to Merck in exchange for exclusive commercial rights to Sycrest in all markets outside the US, China and Japan.

Lundbeck says it expects to launch the product in the European Union (EU), where it is already approved, at the beginning of 2011. Merck will retain exclusive commercial rights to asenapine in the US, China and Japan. In the US, Merck has launched asenapine under the brand name Saphris.

‘This agreement highlights our strategic focus on late-stage specialist central nervous system (CNS) products and our ambition to provide long-term growth opportunities for Lundbeck,’ said Ulf Wiinberg, president and ceo at L