Merck Serono and Domain Therapeutics to develop Parkinson’s drugs

Merck Serono is to ally with Domain Therapeutics to develop new treatments for Parkinson's disease.

The exclusive development and licensing agreement will see Domain Therapeutics provide optimised compounds that will form the basis of metabotropic glutamate receptor 4 positive allosteric modulator agents.

It is thought that targeting this particular G-protein-coupled receptor will yield results in combating Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative conditions.

Merck Serono has identified the France-based company as possessing expertise in this area of research and will pay the firm up to 132 million euros (110.3 million pounds) based on the potential success of the first two products.

Bernhard Kirschbaum, executive vice-president for global research and development at Merck Serono, said: "This partnership with Domain Therapeutics reflects our long-term commitment to develop new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases."

This comes after Merck Serono agreed a deal with Philochem last month to conduct research in the therapeutic area of fertility.