By Will Feuer


Shares of OPKO Health Inc. rose after the diagnostics and pharmaceuticals company said it struck a licensing and collaboration deal with Merck & Co. for the development of its preclinical Epstein-Barr vaccine candidate.

The stock rose more than 20% to $1.27 a share. Over the past 12 months, shares have fallen by almost 59%.

Under the terms of the deal with Merck, announced Wednesday morning, OPKO will receive a $50 million upfront payment and is eligible for up to $872.5 million in milestone payments. The company is also eligible for royalties on global sales of the vaccine candidate, known as MDX-2201.

The companies will jointly develop the candidate for an Investigational New Drug application filing, after which Merck will be responsible for clinical and regulatory activities as well as commercialization.


Write to Will Feuer at Will.Feuer@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

03-08-23 1004ET