Portola inks potential $470M Merck deal - San Francisco Business Times:

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Merck (NYSE: MRK) will pay South San Francisco-based Portola an upfront fee of $50 The value of the deal could climbto $470 million, the companie s said, upon hitting development, regulatory and commercialization Privately held Portola also could receive double-digit royaltiese on worldwide sales if betrixaban is Merck will take on all development and commercialization costs, includinf the costs of Phase III clinical But Portola has options to co-funf the Phase III trials in returnm for higher royalties and to co-promote the drug in the Unite States.
Betrixaban, now in Phase II triapl to prevent stroke in patients withatriall fibrillation, is an oral Factor Xa inhibitor Several oral Factor Xa drugs are in developmenrt because current anticoagulants — like warfarin, the most frequentlh prescribed one in North America are associated with bleeding as well as drug and food interactions. however, is the only drug currently being studied in patients with sever e and moderatekidney impairment, the companies Portola in February won $75 million upfront from NVS) for a mid-stage anti-clotting treatment.
Milestonse payments could push the value of that deal upto $500 Portola CEO Charles Homcy said the dealss with Merck and Novartis validate the quality of the company’sw drug candidates and R&D expertise. “This represents a significantr milestone forthe company, and we now have over $175 milliojn in cash to further advancwe the rest of our valuable proprietarh pipeline,” Homcy said in a press release.