Benzinga | Jan 10, 2022 07:41AM EST

EQRx Enters Memorandum Of Understanding With CVS Health To Explore Partnership To 'accelerate the commercial availability of lower-cost specialty therapeutics and create cost savings' Through Adoption Of EQRx Medicines

* The two companies will explore opportunities for a long-term, strategic partnership spanning the CVS Health enterprise

* Includes CVS Caremark, the leading pharmacy benefit manager in the U.S., covering 1 in 3 Americans -- nearly 110 million lives

* Initial focus will be on EQRx's two lead oncology programs with future therapies expected to follow

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Jan. 10, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- EQRx, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQRX), a new type of pharmaceutical company committed to developing and delivering important new medicines to patients at radically lower prices, today announced it has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with CVS Health.1 The companies plan to explore a long-term, strategic partnership to accelerate the commercial availability of lower-cost specialty therapeutics and create cost savings for CVS Health clients, patients and members through the adoption of EQRx medicines granted approval by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA).

Initially, the companies plan to work together to support access to and adoption of EQRx's two lead oncology products, contingent upon FDA approval. EQRx and CVS Health will also explore opportunities for collaboration in support of their mutually aligned goal of bringing other innovative, lower-cost specialty medications to market in order to significantly reduce overall drug spend.

"Through this MOU, we are taking the first step towards realizing our shared objective to improve access to high-quality, innovative medicines at radically lower prices," said Melanie Nallicheri, chief executive officer of EQRx. "CVS Health is a trusted provider of pharmacy and medical benefits in communities across America. Together, we intend to bring significant cost savings to their clients, plan members, consumers and the broader U.S. healthcare ecosystem."

"Delivering the lowest net cost medications for patients is why our clients hire us. We're always looking for new opportunities to do so, and we actively search for companies who can help us achieve that goal," said Alan Lotvin, president of CVS Caremark. "EQRx brings a novel approach to drug discovery and commercialization and if successful, will bring us another tool to lower specialty drugs costs, which remains the largest area of concern for our clients."

Ms. Nallicheri will make a virtual presentation today, Monday, January 10, at 3:45 p.m. ET at the 40th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. A live and archived webcast of the presentation will be available in the News & Events section of investors.eqrx.com.

About EQRx

EQRx is a new type of pharmaceutical company committed to developing and delivering innovative medicines to patients at radically lower prices. Launched in January 2020, EQRx is purpose-built, at scale, with a growing catalog of medicines in development in high-cost drug categories and emerging partnerships with leading payers and providers. Leveraging cutting-edge science and technology and strategic partnerships with stakeholders from across the healthcare system, EQRx aims to provide innovative, patent-protected medicines more efficiently and cost-effectively than ever before. To learn more, visit www.eqrx.com and follow us on social media: Twitter: @EQRxInc, LinkedIn, Instagram: @eqrxinc.

EQRx(tm) and Remaking Medicine(tm) are trademarks of EQRx, Inc.