Merck & Co., Inc. and Cardiome Pharma Corp. sign a collaboration and license agreement for the development and commercialization of vernakalant, an investigational candidate for the treatment of atrial fibrillation.(INDUSTRIAL Briefs)

Canadian Chemical News, May, 2009

Merck & Co., Inc. and Cardiome Pharma Corp. sign a collaboration and license agreement for the development and commercialization of vernakalant, an investigational candidate for the treatment of atrial fibrillation. The agreement provides Merck with exclusive global rights to the oral formulation of vernakalant (vernakalant [oral]) for the maintenance of normal heart rhythm in patients with atrial fibrillation, and provides a Merck affiliate, Merck Sharp & Dohme (Switzerland) GmbH, with exclusive rights outside of the United States, Canada and Mexico to the intravenous (IV) formulation of vernakalant (vernakalant [IV]) for rapid conversion of acute atrial fibrillation to normal heart rhythm.