Diakron Gets Exclusive Rights To Merck Anticoagulant

Diakron Pharmaceuticals has secured exclusive rights from Merck to develop, market and distribute an oral anticoagulant drug that Merck tested in Phase I trials.

Diakron also has formed a partnership with India-based Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals, which will take over the next development stages, according to a statement from the two companies. Orchid will be a significant shareholder in the drug project. No financial details were disclosed.

The agreement with Orchid "will allow Diakron to fast-track development of this unique anticoagulant product as its number one priority," Diakron's chairman and co-founder, Srirama Rao, says in the statement.

Coumadin (warfarin sodium), manufactured by Bristol-Myers Squibb, is the most frequently used blood-thinning medication, according to the NIH. The FDA estimates that 2 million patients start taking warfarin in the U.S. every year to prevent blood clots, heart attacks and stroke.

"Despite recent advances, there remains a significant unmet medical need for novel anticoagulant therapies," Joseph Vacca, Merck Research Labs' executive director, says.

SOURCE: Diakron Pharmaceuticals