Chennai: Leading pharmaceutical company Orchid Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Ltd today announced that they have formed a strategic partnership with Merck and Co, a marketer and distributor of Merck pharmaceutical products for the discovery of agents in treating bacterial and fungal infections.

"We signed with them (Merck and Co) on Friday and they would work to identify and (the partnership) would develop antibacterial and anti-fungal compounds as clinically validated drug agents" Orchid Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Ltd Managing Director K Raghavendra Rao told reporters here today.

Declining to comment on the undisclosed sum paid to Orchid, Rao said they have set a target of achieving USD 100 million upon achieving various research and development milestones.

To a query, Rao said, "it is not based on a time frame it is based on the efficacy of the molecule".

Elaborating he said Orchid would undertake discovery and candidate development through clinical trials and will be licensed.

"A joint Research Committee comprising of 15-20 scientists would be used for this project and Merck would conduct late stage clinical development and commercialisation based on regulatory approvals" he said.

He said the synergy of Orchid's development and manufacturing capabilities in the anti-infectives domain and Merck's competencies in pharmaceutical research would benefit in the long run.
Source : PTI