Pharmaceuticals - Merck suffers flop with hopeful: share plummets
At the Darmstadt-based Merck Group, an important beacon of hope from the pharmaceutical business has flopped. The drug Evobrutinib did not achieve the targets hoped for by researchers in decisive clinical tests in patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis. Merck shares slumped by a good 13 percent on the stock exchange on Wednesday morning. The Darmstadt-based company had hoped to bring a new "blockbuster" onto the market with Evobrutinib - in other words, a blockbuster with sales in the billions. This is not the first setback for the Group's pharmaceutical division.
The DAX-listed company announced after the close of trading on Tuesday that two pivotal studies to investigate the safety and efficacy of evobrutinib had not produced the desired results. Merck had expected to be able to reduce the so-called annualized relapse rates of test subjects with Evobrutinib compared to the tablet Aubagio from the French manufacturer Sanofi, which has been available for years. However, the target was missed. In its press release, Merck spoke of "very disappointing results".
This setback extends the lean period in Merck's Pharmaceuticals division. The company also failed to achieve the hoped-for breakthrough with another promising product, the cancer drug bintrafusp-alfa. The Group is currently benefiting above all from its cancer drug Bavencio and the MS tablet Mavenclad, which Merck launched on the market as its own medicines for the first time in nine years in 2017.
While the pharmaceutical division has continued to grow recently, Merck's semiconductor business and laboratory division are weakening. Discussions are therefore underway within the Group about cost-cutting measures and job cuts. Merck CEO Belen Garijo has further dampened expectations for 2023 and does not expect the Group to grow again until 2024.
Press release
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- Despite the setback with Evobrutinib, Merck KGaA continues to be a significant player in the field of chemistry, particularly in Germany's Hesse region, where its headquarters are located in Darmstadt.
- The failure of Evobrutinib in treating multiple sclerosis patients is a blow to German pharma, as Merck had ambitious plans to introduce it as a 'blockbuster' in the competitive pharmaceutical market.
- Germany's Minister of Health, Jens Spahn, expressed his sympathies towards Merck KGaA, recognizing their contribution as a 'bearer of hope' in the field of pharmaceutical research and development, especially in relation to diseases like multiple sclerosis.
- The pharmaceutical division of Merck KGaA, known for its contributions in the field of chemistry, is looking at alternatives after the flop of Evobrutinib, as the company seeks to maintain its position as a key player in the pharma industry, especially in Germany.
Source: www.stern.de
