Drug maker Merck & Co. and drug developer Idera Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Monday they agreed to collaborate on developing technologies that could be applied to vaccines for cancer, infectious diseases, or Alzheimer's disease.

Merck, Whitehouse Station, N.J., will make an upfront license fee payment of $20 million and buy $10 million in Idera common stock at $5.50 per share. Idera's technology attempts to improve the Toll-like Receptor function in immune cells. The receptors act as sensors for bacteria, viruses and parasites, and counter with an appropriate response.

Idera, Cambridge, MA., could make up to $165 million in milestone payments if vaccines are successfully developed in all three fields, and up to $260 million more in milestones if follow-on indications for cancer are developed. Idera is also entitled to royalties on product sales.

The companies will collaborate over two years on research and development to find compounds that use two kinds of Toll-like Receptors.

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