Japan’s Astellas Pharma said on Wednesday it has agreed to sell the North American rights to the intravenous form of irregular heartbeat treatment vernakalant to Merck & Co , giving the U.S.-based firm the global market for the drug. Merck will pay Astellas an undisclosed upfront fee and milestone payments associated with the development, regulatory approval and sales of the drug in Canada, Mexico and the United States, Astellas, Japan’s No.2 drugmaker, said in a statement. In 2009, Merck obtained the rights for vernakalant outside of North America and was subsequently granted approval to sell the intravenous form of the drug in the European Union, Iceland and Norway, where it is known as Brinavess.
