Merck has signed a licensing deal with Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals worth up to $2 billion for its experimental heart disease drug, the companies said on Tuesday. Under the terms of the agreement,

Merck (NYSE:MRK) has reached a licensing agreement worth nearly $2B with the Chinese drugmaker Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals to jointly develop and commercialize an experimental heart disease therapy.

(Yicai) March 26 -- Shares of Hengrui Pharmaceuticals rose after the Chinese firm granted US-Canadian pharma giant Merck Sharp & Dohme exclusive global rights, excluding China, to an investigational oral small molecule Lipoprotein (a) inhibitor.