• R-Pharm, of Moscow, recently inked a deal with Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based Merck & Co. Inc. for rights to an investigational hepatitis C virus (HCV) once-daily protease inhibitor, narlaprevir. Under the terms, R-Pharm gains the right to develop and commercialize narlaprevir in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States in exchange for an undisclosed up-front payment and royalties.