Image by Getty Images via @daylifemarketwatch.com Shares of Merck(MRK 34.71, +0.85, +2.51%) rose almost 3% to $34.68 in morning trading.
Merck said early Friday that it has reached a deal with Johnson & Johnson(JNJ 60.89, +0.87, +1.45%) that will allow it to retain some of the marketing rights to the lucrative rheumatoid arthritis drug Remicade. The drug previously had been co-marketed by J&J and Schering-Plough, which Merck acquired in 2009.
J&J had asserted that the Schering-Plough takeover triggered a change-of-control clause in Remicade’s marketing agreement, thereby granting full commercial control to J&J.
Under the deal, Merck will pay J&J $500 million up-front, but retain marketing rights in Europe, Russia and Turkey.
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