Idec Pharmaceuticals has formed an $11.5-million research...

Idec Pharmaceuticals has formed an $11.5-million research and development partnership with several organizations sponsored by Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley, two New York-based investment firms, the company said Thursday.

The partnership plans to complete development of a proprietary technology that Idec hopes will one day treat cancer of the immune system. The agreement announced Thursday covers Idec’s research into B-cell lymphomas and leukemias, cancers that affect more than 450,000 people in the United States, Europe and Japan.

Idec is conducting clinical trials to treat B-cell lymphomas at Stanford University, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, and at the UC San Diego Cancer Center.