Merck & Co. pens $200M upfront deal for Hengrui's midstage heart disease med

Merck & Co. is handing over $200 million to China’s Hengrui Pharma for a phase 2-stage lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) inhibitor.

In return for the ex-China rights to the drug, dubbed HRS-5346, Merck has also agreed to pay out up to $1.77 billion in milestone fees on top of tiered royalties should the therapy make it to market.