June 23, 2006(MSNBC) - Shares in Merck dropped on Friday after the
German pharmaceuticals company said it was ending the development of
Sarizotan, an experimental treatment for Parkinson's disease, after
it failed late-stage clinical trials.
The failure is a setback for the family-controlled company, as the
drug had been expected to eventually generate annual sales of as
much as €250m ($314.3m) had it reached the market Earlier this year,
Merck tried to bolster its pipeline of drugs in late-stage
development by making a surprise offer from rival drugs group
Schering. But it was forced to pull out of bidding in March, after
its offer for Schering was trumped by a €16.3bn offer from Bayer.

On Friday, Merck's shares fell about 5.8 per cent to €69.83 in early
trading in Frankfurt.

The company said that two Phase III studies on Sarizotan did not
demonstrate a statistically significant difference between Sarizotan
and a placebo.

"A [regulatory] filing and launch in this indication will not be
possible," it said. "Merck does not plan to pursue further
development of this compound."

The drug had been developed for the treatment of dyskinesia, the
involuntary twitching movements that are suffered by people in the
advanced stages of Parkinson's disease.

Merck, which has also diversified into making liquid crystals for
plasma computers and television screens, has a pipeline that
includes drugs for treating cancer and diabetes.

Lydia Adetunji