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April 12, 2016 4:00 pm ET

KENILWORTH, N.J. – Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for review the Biologics License Application (BLA) for MK-8237, Merck’s house dust mite sublingual allergy immunotherapy (SLIT) tablet.

The BLA for Merck’s investigational house dust mite SLIT-tablet is supported by a comprehensive clinical program involving more than 4,000 patients, including two Phase III in-field trials that evaluated the efficacy and safety of MK-8237 in house dust mite-induced allergic rhinitis with or without conjunctivitis.

“We are proud of Merck’s longstanding respiratory heritage and commitment to helping patients with allergies,” said Stuart Green, M.D., vice president, clinical research, Merck Research Laboratories. “This is an important milestone in the clinical development of MK-8237 as a potential new option for adults with house dust mite-induced allergic rhinitis with or without conjunctivitis. House dust mites are a source of a common perennial allergen and frequently live in household objects such as upholstered furniture, bedding and carpeting.”

Merck’s house dust mite SLIT-tablet is an investigational sublingual immunotherapy dissolvable tablet designed to help treat allergic rhinitis with or without conjunctivitis caused by house dust mite-specific allergens. Merck has partnered with ALK-Abelló to develop its house dust mite SLIT-tablet in North America.  

About Merck

For 125 years, Merck has been a global health care leader working to help the world be well. Merck is known as MSD outside the United States and Canada. Through our prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, and animal health products, we work with customers and operate in more than 140 countries to deliver innovative health solutions. We also demonstrate our commitment to increasing access to health care through far-reaching policies, programs and partnerships. For more information, visit www.merck.com and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn. 

Forward-Looking Statement of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA

This news release of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA (the “company”) includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the company’s management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. There can be no guarantees with respect to pipeline products that the products will receive the necessary regulatory approvals or that they will prove to be commercially successful. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.

Risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to, general industry conditions and competition; general economic factors, including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; the impact of pharmaceutical industry regulation and health care legislation in the United States and internationally; global trends toward health care cost containment; technological advances, new products and patents attained by competitors; challenges inherent in new product development, including obtaining regulatory approval; the company’s ability to accurately predict future market conditions; manufacturing difficulties or delays; financial instability of international economies and sovereign risk; dependence on the effectiveness of the company’s patents and other protections for innovative products; and the exposure to litigation, including patent litigation, and/or regulatory actions.

The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in the company’s 2015 Annual Report on Form 10-K and the company’s other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) available at the SEC’s Internet site (www.sec.gov).

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