Intec Pharma Ltd. (NASDAQ: NTEC) today announces it has entered into an agreement with Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, to explore using the Accordion Pill® (AP) platform for an undisclosed development program.

"We are very excited to collaborate with Merck," said Jeffrey A. Meckler, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Intec Pharma. "Through partnerships such as this, we continue to evaluate how the Accordion Pill's innovative gastric retention and controlled drug release properties may be used to enhance therapeutic attributes."

"We believe this program, as well as our ongoing collaboration with Novartis, paves the way for other new collaborations to further validate the AP platform and confirms our technical abilities to build custom APs. Importantly, these new programs offer the opportunity to pursue novel additions to our product and intellectual property portfolio," concluded Mr. Meckler.