Ariad Gets $12.5M From Merck For Beginning Cancer Trial

Ariad Pharmaceuticals, the Cambridge, MA-based developer of cancer drugs, said today it will receive a $12.5 million milestone payment from its partner, Merck, for beginning a mid-stage study of deforolimus for patients with advanced prostate cancer. The treatment, an oral pill, is being tested against other forms of cancer through the Merck partnership.

Author: Luke Timmerman

Luke is an award-winning journalist specializing in life sciences. He has served as national biotechnology editor for Xconomy and national biotechnology reporter for Bloomberg News. Luke got started covering life sciences at The Seattle Times, where he was the lead reporter on an investigation of doctors who leaked confidential information about clinical trials to investors. The story won the Scripps Howard National Journalism Award and several other national prizes. Luke holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and during the 2005-2006 academic year, he was a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT.