A roundup of the biggest stories coming out of Germany’s pharma industry, including Bayer’s biggest share price drop in 20 years; Fresenius Kabi’s biosimilar deal with SamChunDang Pharm; Halozyme Therapeutics’ withdrawal from purchase of Evotec; Merck KGaA-controlled MilliporeSigma’s acquisition of HUB Organoids, and Gilead’s USD 465 million solid tumour deal with German biotech Tubulis.

 

Bayer’s shares sink to 20-year low on 2025 earnings fall forecast (Reuters)

Bayer said on Tuesday that weak agricultural markets mean its earnings are likely to fall further next year, sparking a sharp fall in the German company’s shares and piling pressure on its CEO to deliver on his turnaround efforts.
Chief Executive Bill Anderson has started cutting jobs, speeding up decision-making and slashing red tape in a bid to turn around the embattled industrial group, while putting plans to break up its diversified businesses on hold. Shares in Bayer were down 11.6% to 21.57 euros at 1004 GMT, their lowest level in 20 years following its update.

Bayer acquires rights to Cytokinetics’ heart drug in Japan (Reuters)

Bayer (BAYGn.DE), opens new tab on Tuesday struck a collaboration deal with U.S. biotech firm Cytokinetics to acquire certain rights in Japan to an experimental heart drug, as the German group strengthens its cardiovascular business with smaller deals.

Cytokinetics will receive 50 million euros ($53 million) upfront, plus up to 90 million euros contingent on certain development achievements, Bayer said in a statement.

 

Fresenius to Expand Biopharma Portfolio With a New Licensing Agreement to Commercialize a Proposed Aflibercept Biosimilar (Company website)

Fresenius, through its operating company Fresenius Kabi, is broadening its growing biopharma portfolio through a new licensing agreement with South Korea’s SamChunDang Pharm (SCD).  Under the agreement, Fresenius Kabi will exclusively commercialize SCD’s aflibercept biosimilar candidate in the U.S. and several countries in Latin America. 

Aflibercept is used to treat a range of ophthalmic disorders, including wet age-related macular degeneration.  

 

Halozyme withdraws $2.1 bln buyout offer for German drug developer Evotec (Reuters)

Halozyme Therapeutics has pulled its proposal to buy Evotec SE for 2 billion euros ($2.09 billion) as the German drug developer was unwilling to engage in discussions, the U.S. firm said on Friday. Shares of Halozyme rose 4.70% to $47.80, while the U.S.-listed stock of Evotec tumbled 19.63% to $4.30.
“To date, Evotec has been unwilling to engage with us to explore a potential combination, and a company spokesperson has publicly commented that its goal is to remain an independent company,” said Halozyme CEO Helen Torley.

 

MilliporeSigma Acquires HUB Organoids Holding B.V., Expands Next-Gen Biology Portfolio (BioSpace)

The Life Science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, has acquired HUB Organoids B.V. (HUB), as announced by MilliporeSigma, the U.S. and Canada business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany in the December 17 announcement. The acquisition, which closed on December 23, 2024, is a strategic step aligned with the company’s commitment to providing novel next-generation biology solutions to the life science industry, specifically by enabling wider access to HUB’s technology for faster and more effective drug development.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

 

Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, launches first-to-market, cyber-physical trust platform to tackle issues of product safety and counterfeiting (PR Newswire)

Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, a leading science and technology company, today launched a beta version of M-Trust™, a secure cyber-physical trust platform, created to help solve the growing issues of product safety, traceability and counterfeiting.

Laura Matz, Chief Science & Technology Officer of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, stated, “As expectations for product quality control rise, companies must ensure safety and transparency in their industrial value chains while complying with ever-tightening regulations. Until now, they may have struggled to fully digitalize assurance processes because machines did not meet human standards. M-Trust™ is a first-to-market, cyber-physical trust platform that enhances product traceability and authenticity by digitally empowering human capabilities in quality control processes. Designed for businesses that want to remain competitive in today’s connected world, this innovative technology is also poised to enable the novel business models of tomorrow.”

 

Teleflex Is in Talks to Buy German Biotronik’s Stent Unit (Bloomberg)

Teleflex Inc. is in discussions to acquire German medical technology firm Biotronik SE & Co.’s vascular intervention unit, according to people familiar with the matter. Teleflex is offering to buy the Biotronik business for €500 million ($526 million) to €1 billion, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. An agreement could be reached as soon as this month, another person said.

The Biotronik’s unit up for sale manufactures stents and balloon catheters to treat blocked blood vessels. Teleflex, a maker of medical devices and hospital supplies, faced headwinds in this area when it had to recall some of its balloon catheters earlier this year, with the US Food and Drug Administration saying that a manufacturing defect could result in serious injury or death.

 

Swiss pharma giant Novartis to close biotech firm Morphosys (SWI)

Novartis is closing the German biotech company Morphosys, acquired earlier this year, according to German press reports confirmed by the Basel-based pharmaceutical giant. Hundreds of jobs are affected.

Novartis decided in November 2024 to close the Morphosys sites in Germany and the United States by the end of 2025 and integrate all portfolio activities into the company, according to an article in the German magazine WirtschaftsWoche on Thursday. Around 330 jobs could be lost. Contacted by the AWP news agency, the Basel-based pharmaceutical giant confirmed this information.

 

Gilead taps German biotech Tubulis for solid tumor ADC development deal worth up to $465M (Fierce Biotech)

Gilead is making a move in the hunt for antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) that target solid tumors by tapping Tubulis, a German biotech that specializes in the molecules, to collaboratively discover and develop a topoisomerase I inhibitor-based ADC candidate, the companies announced in a Dec. 3 release.

Gilead is paying Tubulis $20 million upfront, and, if Gilead exercises the option, Tubulis will receive a separate option exercise fee of $30 million, the companies said in the release. The Munich-based company is also eligible for development and commercialization milestone payments totaling up to $415 million, plus tiered royalties on sales of products resulting from the team-up.

 

Boehringer Ingelheim drops obesity drug from Gubra partnership (Fierce Biotech)

Boehringer Ingelheim has halted development of an obesity drug from Gubra that it originally pledged to advance back in 2017.

Boehringer initially committed up to 250 million euros ($300 million) to partner with Gubra on obesity treatments. The three other projects in the team-up, including two preclinical assets and a potential first-in-class triple agonist currently in a phase 1 trial, are still ongoing, Gubra said.