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
FPT Named an OpenAI Select Partner6.8.2026 03:00:00 EEST | Press release
Global IT corporation FPT today announced that it has been named an OpenAI Select Partner within the OpenAI Partner Network. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260805503787/en/ FPT Named an OpenAI Select Partner The OpenAI Partner Network is a global program for partners to build, sell, and deliver AI solutions with OpenAI. It brings together partners with deep industry expertise, delivery capabilities, and customer relationships while equipping them with resources, enablement, and support to help enterprises adopt OpenAI frontier models and products and turn them into measurable impact. As an OpenAI Select Partner, FPT will continue working with OpenAI to help organizations build, deploy, and scale AI solutions responsibly and effectively. This work will help organizations get more useful work from every token and stronger performance per dollar with GPT‑5.6, while using ChatGPT Work to turn ambitious goals into
U.S. FDA Approves Takeda’s ORZEYFUL™ (oveporexton), the First and Only Medicine to Treat the Underlying Cause of Narcolepsy Type 16.8.2026 01:10:00 EEST | Press release
Takeda (TSE:4502/NYSE:TAK) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved ORZEYFUL™ (oveporexton), an oral orexin receptor 2 (OX2R) agonist, for the treatment of narcolepsy type 1 (NT1, narcolepsy with cataplexy) in adults.* The persistent 24-hour nature of NT1 is driven by orexin deficiency and can severely impact people’s lives. As a first-in-class orexin treatment, ORZEYFUL is the only medicine indicated in the U.S. to treat the disease holistically rather than individual symptoms. “The FDA approval of ORZEYFUL marks a new chapter for the narcolepsy type 1 community, as we introduce an entirely new class of medicine that will potentially redefine how this disease is managed and howpeople feel on treatment,” said Julie Kim, president and chief executive officer of Takeda. “We are proud to have discovered and developed this orexin treatment innovation and will bring it to adults living with NT1 as quickly as possible.” NT1 is a rare, chronic neurological disease d
Compass Pathways Announces New Employee Inducement Grants Under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4)5.8.2026 23:30:00 EEST | Press release
Compass Pathways plc (Nasdaq: CMPS), a biotechnology company dedicated to unlocking urgently needed new treatment options in mental health care, announced today that Compass granted equity awards under the Compass Pathways plc 2026 Inducement Plan to fourteen newly hired non-executive employees. The equity awards were granted on August 3, 2026 and consisted of options to purchase an aggregate of 139,355 shares and restricted share units or, in the case of employees in the United Kingdom nominal cost options, covering an aggregate of 66,300 shares. The options have an exercise price per share equal to $11.25, the closing price of the Company’s American Depositary Shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on the grant date, and will vest over a four-year period with 25% vesting on the first anniversary of the date of the grant and the remaining 75% vesting in equal monthly installments over the three-year period thereafter, subject to each employee’s continued employment. The restricted
Clinilabs Announces Medical Leadership Appointments5.8.2026 17:05:00 EEST | Press release
Clinilabs (“Clinilabs LLC”), a global, full-service contract research organization (CRO) specializing in central nervous system (CNS) drug and device development, today announced the appointments of Bob Dagher, M.D., as Chief Medical Officer and Waqar Ahmed Siddiqui, M.D., as Principal Investigator of the Company’s Eatontown, New Jersey Clinical Research Unit (CRU). Dr. Dagher will provide strategic and medical leadership across the organization, while Dr. Siddiqui will lead the execution of research projects at the Company’s CRU. Together, they will support the design, development, and execution of clinical programs for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device sponsors advancing innovative therapies for psychiatric, neurological, substance use, and rare CNS disorders. “Clinilabs has earned the trust of sponsors by combining deep scientific expertise, medical leadership, and operational excellence with a track record of execution from first-in-human studies through regulatory
Interactive Brokers Adds Brazilian Futures through Brazil’s B3 Exchange5.8.2026 17:00:00 EEST | Press release
Interactive Brokers (Nasdaq: IBKR), an automated global broker, today announced that eligible clients outside of Brazil can now trade Brazilian futures in addition to equities through the B3 exchange. Interactive Brokers was the first broker to provide international investors with streamlined, low-cost access to B3. Offering Brazilian futures and equities alongside products across more than 170 markets worldwide underscores IBKR’s commitment to broadening global market access and giving clients efficient, cost-effective ways to diversify through a single, unified platform. Access to B3 provides exposure to one of Latin America’s most active and liquid markets, providing long-term growth potential across multiple sectors and another way for investors to pursue emerging market opportunities. "Global investors deserve seamless, low-cost access to the world's most compelling markets, including emerging economies shaping tomorrow's financial landscape," said Milan Galik, Chief Executive Off
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