Metabasis Extends, Expands Collaboration With Merck & Co. for Hepatitis C

Metabasis Therapeutics has extended and expanded a hepatitis C collaboration that was established with Merck & Co. in December 2003.

The companies will continue their joint efforts to identify novel small molecule therapeutics for the treatment of hepatitis C virus infections for an additional 12 months, through December 2005.

Under the extension, which was permitted under the terms of the existing agreement, Merck will continue to contribute drug candidates to the collaboration and fund Metabasis' efforts to apply its technologies to those candidates with the goal of producing a candidate suitable for clinical development.

The agreement was expanded to provide for use of certain other technologies in addition to Metabasis' proprietary HepDirect technology.