Merck Kgaa is getting closer to the Springworks agreement, which was presented for the first time in February, confirming negotiations at an advanced stage at an estimated price at $ 47 per share – potentially assessing the agreement at around $ 3.5 billion.
The company confirmed in a press release of April 24 according to which no final, legally binding agreement was established, the “parties are under discussion on the basis of a price of around $ 47 per share”.
The news is following months of speculation. A chatter of the market around a potential acquisition began on February 10, 2025, when Reuters reported that Merck Kgaa explored an agreement. On the same day, the German pharmaceutical office recognized the discussions, but warned that there was no transaction guarantee. Following the report, Springworks’ shares jumped 34%, pushing the company’s market capitalization to more than $ 4 billion. The CEO of Merck Kgaa, Belén Garijobut, refused to provide updates on the agreement during the press call on the results of the company in March, keeping investors pending.
Springworks’ shares increased by almost 9% when the markets opened on April 25, after the last development.
A successful acquisition would strengthen the Merck Kgaa oncology portfolio with the targework targeted therapy pipeline. These include Ogsiveo (nirogacetat), which is approved for the treatment of desmoid tumors, as well as the Mek Gomekli inhibitor (MirdaMetinib), which was Approved in February 2025 For the treatment of type 1 neurofibromatosis (NF1), a rare genetic disorder.
According to projections from the GlobalData pharmaceutical intelligence center, Gomekli is expected to generate up to $ 564 million in world sales by 2030, while Ogsiveo sales are expected to reach $ 1.2 billion by the same year.
GlobalData is the parent company of Pharmaceutical technology.
Merck Kgaa already has a solid pipeline in oncology. Its best -selling product in 2024 was Erbitux (Cetuximab), which generated 1.16 billion euros ($ 1.25 billion) in income. The drug is a monoclonal antibody used to treat certain cancers in the head and neck and colorectal cancer.
However, not all programs have been so successful. In June 2024, Merck Kgaa ended the clinical trial of phase III Trilynx of Xevinapper after the drug failed to considerably improve survival in patients with head and neck cancer.
In addition, Merck Kgaa faced setbacks in his neurology pipeline, in particular the judgment of the BTK Evobrubrutinib inhibitor in March 2024. The decision followed two phase II trials in the relapse of multiple sclerosis, where the drug has not reached a statistically significant reduction in annual relapse compared to the Aubagio de Sanofi (Triflunomide). The program had already been examined in April 2023, when the Food and Drug Administration of the United States (FDA) placed a partial clinical socket on a phase III study after cases of liver injury were reported.
