Exclusive Germany Merck KGAA in a talk to buy cancer biotechnology company Springworks, according to sources
By Sabrina Valle and Patricia Weiss
NEW YORK/FRANKFURT (Reuters) – German healthcare and technology group Merck KGAA has been a highly advanced drugmaker for American cancer and rare diseases, according to people familiar with the issue. It is under discussion.
If consultations are successful, the deal could be signed in the coming weeks, according to three sources, who requested anonymity as the discussion is confidential. They did not disclose the exact term being discussed.
SpringWorks, which has a market value of $3 billion, declined to comment. A Merck spokesman also declined to comment.
“We will continuously evaluate options that can support our business and strengthen our strategic positioning as a leading science and technology company. Certain transactions will be announced when they come true,” Merck stated. I mentioned it in.
The large pharmaceutical company takes a breather to consolidate the massive acquisitions it completed the previous year, showing signs that transactions in the US healthcare sector will pick up after a slowdown in activity in 2024. In January, Johnson & Johnson agreed to buy the intracellular therapies for around $14.6 billion.
Springworks, which listed its stock in New York in 2019, is a commercial-stage biotechnology company that develops drugs to treat various forms of cancer and other rare diseases such as uterine cancer and tumors. Monotherapeutic drugs used to treat desmoid tumors are approved in the United States.
The Springworks deal has ranked as one of Merck’s biggest pharma transactions in recent years, boosting its ongoing efforts to build a cancer treatment pipeline. In 2015, Merck agreed to purchase US lab equipment supplier Sigma Aldrich for $17 billion.
With a market value of 612.5 billion euros ($631.3 billion), Merck has recently suffered a high-profile setback in late drug trials, urging it to halt development of the head and neck cancer drug Xevinapant. A major trial of the multiple sclerosis drug evobrutinib failed in December 2023.
In its most recent quarterly revenue, Merck reported a 12% increase in adjusted quarterly revenue. In an interview in January, Merck CEO said that a rebound in sales growth in key businesses allows the company to take a cautious approach to buying other companies at high prices.
($1 = 0.9702 Euro)
(Reporting by Sabrina Valle of New York and Patricia Weiss of Frankfurt, Additional reporting by Milana Vin of New York, Editing by Annealvan Sen and Susan Fenton)