Bend Research, an independent drug-formulation development and manufacturing company, has entered into a licensing agreement with Merck, through a subsidiary.

Under the terms of the agreement, Bend Research will provide Merck access to its proprietary spray-dried dispersion (SDD) technology. Depending on Merck's additional needs, Bend may also provide Merck with access under the license agreement to additional drug-delivery platforms and intellectual property, including modified-release technologies and drug-discovery formulation tools.

Under the collaboration, the two companies hope to use their complementary fundamental scientific and engineering capabilities to solve complex formulation and process-development problems with an eye toward transferring these solutions to a cGMP environment.