08:20 AM EDT, 09/26/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Evaxion Biotech ( EVAX ) said Thursday it granted Merck ( MRK ) an option to exclusively license two preclinical vaccine candidates, EVX-B2 and EVX-B3.

If Merck ( MRK ) exercises the option to license either one or both candidates, Evaxion will receive $3.2 million upfront and up to $10 million in 2025, Evaxion said.

Evaxion said it is also eligible for milestone payments of up to $592 million per product.

EVX-B2 is a protein-based candidate for gonorrhea and EVX-B3, co-developed with Merck ( MRK ), targets an undisclosed infectious agent.

Evaxion was up more than 6%, while Merck ( MRK ) was trading fractionally higher in pre-bell Thursday.

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