Friday, April 15, 2011

Merck (MRK) Up on J&J (JNJ) Remicade Deal

Shares of Merck (NYSE:MRK) climbed close to 3 percent in trading on news it had entered a marketing deal with Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) with its rheumatoid arthritis drug Remicade.

When Merck acquired Schering-Plough in 2009 it triggered a change-of-control clause in Remicade’s marketing agreement, which gave Johnson & Johnson full commercial control of the drug.

Merck will pay J&J $500 million and will retain marketing rights in Russia, Turkey and Europe.

Johnson & Johnson was trading at $60.67, up $0.65, or 1.08 percent, as of 12:53 PM EDT. Merck was trading at $34.76, gaining $0.90, or 2.66 percent.

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