Merz Enters Asset Purchase Agreement With a US-Based Biotech Company
2.4.2024 09:28:00 EEST | Business Wire | Press release
Merz Therapeutics, a business of Frankfurt-based Merz Group, has entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement to acquire two commercial medicines from NASDAQ-listed Acorda Therapeutics. Closing of the transaction would significantly contribute to the accelerated growth strategy of Merz Therapeutics.
“Our specialty-neurology focused business Merz Therapeutics has developed very well in recent years. This investment would add significantly to Merz Therapeutics growth strategy and expand our portfolio in the field of movement disorders and neurodegeneration. In addition, it will strengthen the market position in North America” says Jörg Bergler, COO of the Merz Group. "We are excited about the development of Merz Therapeutics and are convinced that the purchase of the two drugs - one for the treatment of OFF phases of Parkinson's disease (PD) and one for the treatment of gait disorders in multiple sclerosis - would be of great value to both physicians and patients."
The acquisition will be processed through a court structured 363 sale process under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, where Merz Therapeutics will provide the opening in the auction. The purchase price offered by Merz is USD 185 million. The completion of the sale process is expected in June 2024, with any sale subject to court approval.
For the family-owned Merz Group, headquartered in Frankfurt, this investment would be the third transaction in the US in just over 10 years and the second time with a NASDAQ-listed company. "Merz has grown strongly in recent years - organically, but also through strategic acquisitions, especially in North America. We have solid experience in both the acquisition and integration of US companies or products. As a German-based but global company, we are very interested in innovative acquisitions, on a global scale," concludes Jörg Bergler.
Stefan König, CEO of Merz Therapeutics, adds, “As a patient-focused, innovative company we recognize the responsibility of providing continued patient care and support for Acorda’s well-established and innovative therapies and see this as an optimal potential portfolio expansion that underscores our ambition in key therapeutic areas.”
About Merz Group
Merz Group is a global, diversified company in the healthcare sector based in Frankfurt, Germany. Family-owned for over 116 years, the company is distinguished by its commitment to innovation, long-term perspective, and focus on profitable growth. Merz Group includes the businesses Merz Aesthetics, Merz Therapeutics, Merz Consumer Care, Merz Real Estate, and Merz Financial Investments. The company employs 4,337 people (as of the 22/23 financial year) in 28 countries worldwide. To learn more, please visit www.merz.com.
About Merz Therapeutics
Merz Therapeutics GmbH is dedicated to improving the lives of patients around the world. With its relentless research, development, and culture of innovation, Merz Therapeutics strives to serve unmet patient needs and realize better outcomes. Merz Therapeutics seeks to address the unique needs of people who suffer from movement disorders, neurodegenerative conditions, liver disease, and other health conditions that severely impact patients’ quality of life.
Merz Therapeutics is headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, Germany and is represented in more than 90 countries, with a North America affiliate based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Merz Therapeutics GmbH is part of the Merz Group. Please visit www.merztherapeutics.com
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240401849394/en/
Contact information
Media Contact
Merz Asset Management Holding GmbH & Co. KG
Communications
Karolina Dzeko-Balke
Telephone number: +49 (0) 69 1503 2749
E-mail: karolina.dzeko-balke@merz.de
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Bending Spoons S.p.A. announces pricing of initial public offering1.7.2026 02:56:00 EEST | Press release
Bending Spoons S.p.A. (“Bending Spoons”), a leading technology company, today announces the pricing of its initial public offering (“IPO”) at $29.00 per share. A total of 57,971,015 ordinary shares are being offered, of which 34,398,640 shares are being offered by Bending Spoons and 23,572,375 shares are being offered by certain selling shareholders (the “Selling Shareholders”). Bending Spoons will not receive any proceeds from any sale of shares by the Selling Shareholders. The shares are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “BSP” on July 1, 2026. The offering is expected to close on July 2, 2026, subject to customary closing conditions. In addition, Bending Spoons and the Selling Shareholders granted the underwriters an option to purchase up to an additional 5,244,026 ordinary shares from Bending Spoons and up to an additional 3,451,626 ordinary shares from the Selling Shareholders at the initial public offering price, less underwriting
FDA Issues Modified Risk Tobacco Product Orders for 20 ZYN Nicotine Pouch Products30.6.2026 19:19:00 EEST | Press release
Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) (NYSE: PM) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued Modified Risk Tobacco Product (MRTP) orders for 20 variants of ZYN nicotine pouch products. These are the first MRTP orders granted for nicotine pouches, allowing PMI U.S. to market the following claim for the authorized ZYN products: “Using ZYN instead of cigarettes puts you at a lower risk of mouth cancer, heart disease, lung cancer, stroke, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis.” “FDA’s decision is an important moment for the more than 45 million legal-age nicotine consumers in America,” saidStacey Kennedy, PMI U.S. CEO. “Today’s news ensures these adultshave access to accurate, science-based information, including FDA-authorized evidence that switching from cigarettes to ZYN reduces the risk of smoking-related diseases like heart disease and lung cancer,” she added. “More broadly, it reinforces the agency’s science-based approach to evaluating products across the co
Caidya Announces Strategic Combination with Simbec-Orion Bridging Early Scientific Insight and Global Clinical Execution30.6.2026 18:00:00 EEST | Press release
Caidya today announced a strategic combination with Simbec-Orion designed to close the divide between early scientific insight and global clinical execution. The combination of Caidya and Simbec-Orion creates a differentiated specialty clinical CRO platform that enables programs to scale, maintaining focus, speed, and accountability. The strategic combination brings together complementary strengths to create a more complete development partner for innovative biopharma companies. With established operations across Europe, the Americas, APAC, and China, the combined organization provides meaningful expertise and execution capabilities in the regions that matter most. Simbec-Orion brings early-phase clinical pharmacology capabilities alongside deep therapeutic expertise for later stage complex oncology and rare disease trials, helping sponsors shape critical decisions early in the development lifecycle. Together, the organizations strengthen their ability to support complex, cross-border
Archer® Proves Purpose-Built AI Beats General-Purpose LLMs on Regulatory Change Management: 95% Verified Accuracy, 80x Faster, 92% Lower Cost30.6.2026 17:13:00 EEST | Press release
For enterprises deploying AI in compliance, a wrong date is a missed deadline. The more dangerous failure is a wrong answer the model returns with high confidence, one that flows silently into a compliance calendar and is only discovered after the window has passed. Archer® today released results showing purpose-built AI beats a general-purpose large language model (LLM) on regulatory work, and it’s not close. This head-to-head test compared Archer’s purpose-built, vertical-specific AI and proprietary data sets against a leading general-purpose LLM, on a core compliance task: determining the publication, effective and comment-close dates of regulatory documents across six jurisdictions. General-purpose models are a genuine breakthrough, and this is no referendum on their quality. The question Archer set out to answer is narrower and more practical: what it takes to make a specific, high-stakes determination reliable, fast and affordable at scale. A vertical, domain-focused process, gro
Altasciences Supports Key Development Milestone for Steel Therapeutics’ Lead Therapeutic Candidate, Fizurex™30.6.2026 17:08:00 EEST | Press release
Altasciences, a leading drug development organization, today announced a significant milestone in the development of Steel Therapeutics, Inc.’s pivotal toxicology study for its lead product candidate, Fizurex™, for the treatment of anal fissures. The successful completion of the study plays a significant role in the advancement of Fizurex™ toward first-in-human trials. The GLP-compliant study demonstrated a favorable safety profile, which has advanced Steel Therapeutics' plans to submit an Investigational New Drug (IND) application for Fizurex™ to the FDA in Q3 2026. Fizurex™, a patent-pending, single-use topical wipe, was designed to provide a standardized, accessible treatment option for a painful and often undertreated medical condition. The product builds on years of use through compounding pharmacy prescriptions and is now advancing toward clinical development and regulatory review. "We are proud to have supported Steel Therapeutics with the generation of the high-quality safety d
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom