On January 13, 2009, Apitope Technology (Bristol) Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Apitope International NV, announced the signature of a research, development and commercialization agreement with Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. Under this agreement, Apitope has granted exclusive worldwide rights to Merck Serono to develop and commercialize Apitope's product ATX-MS-1467. This peptide therapeutic has completed an initial clinical study in patients with MS. It is designed to induce immunological tolerance of the body's T-cells to key autoantigens involved in the pathogenesis of MS.
Apitope was advised by Paul Ranson of Fasken Martineau.