Merck & Co Inc has entered into an exclusive patent license and collaborative research and development agreement in the infectious diseases field with Kyorin Pharmaceutical Co Ltd of Tokyo, Japan.

Under an existing agreement signed in 1998, Kyorin and Merck have been conducting collaborative research on synthetic antibacterial agents for the treatment of community-acquired pneumonia and nosocomial infections. The agreement announced extends the current collaboration by three years and provides for future development and licensing of any products that may result from the collaboration.

Under the terms of this latest agreement, Kyorin grants Merck an exclusive worldwide license, excluding Japan, for the development, manufacture and sale of any products that result from the collaboration. Merck will make milestone payments to Kyorin and pay royalties based on product sales, release from Merck said.

In Japan, Kyorin will jointly develop a compound with Banyu Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, a 100-per cent owned Japanese subsidiary of Merck, under the exclusive license from Merck, and Banyu will co-promote the product with Kyorin. Additional terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The two companies will establish a joint steering committee to manage the collaborative research, and to jointly assess and select candidate compounds for further development.

"The extension of our collaborative agreement with Kyorin demonstrates Merck's continuing commitment to the field of antibiotics," said Merck chairman, president and CEO Raymond V Gilmartin.