Merck KGaA sets its sights on acquisition of Ogsiveo-maker SpringWorks

As SpringWorks Therapeutics nears a key regulatory decision in the U.S., the Connecticut-based cancer and rare disease drugmaker appears to have attracted the attention of a biopharma bigwig from overseas.

Darmstadt, Germany’s Merck KGaA is said to be in advanced talks to acquire SpringWorks, which has a market value of around $3 billion, Reuters reported Monday, citing people close to the matter.

Should everything go to plan, the deal could be inked in the coming weeks, Reuters’ sources said.

SpringWorks declined to weigh in on the situation, with a company spokesperson telling Fierce Pharma that “SpringWorks does not comment on market rumors or speculation.”

Merck KGaA did not immediately respond to Fierce Pharma’s request for comment, though a company spokesperson told Reuters that it “continuously assesses options that could support our businesses and enhance our strategic positioning.”

Any details on a potential transaction will be announced “when they materialize,” Merck KGaA’s spokesperson told the news service.

Word of the potential acquisition comes as SpringWorks awaits an FDA approval decision on its MEK inhibitor mirdametinib toward the end of February. If approved with the company’s hoped-for label, mirdametinib—slated to become SpringWorks’ second commercial medicine behind the desmoid tumor drug Ogsiveo—would be the first therapy cleared by the FDA for both adults and children with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) who have symptomatic plexiform neurofibromas (PN).

Should SpringWorks’ drug pass muster with the FDA, mirdametinib will have to go toe-to-toe with AstraZeneca’s Koselugo on the U.S. market.

After 2024 proved to be a more muted year for large-scale biopharma M&A, 2025 has already ushered in a pair of substantial transactions.

Issuing an opening salvo at this year’s J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, Johnson & Johnson last month said it was paying $14.6 billion to get its hands on New York City-based central nervous system biotech Intra-Cellular Therapies.

More recently, investment firm Bain Capital last week said it was laying out 510 billion Japanese yen ($3.3 billion) to acquire Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma in a carve-out transaction from the Japanese drugmaker’s parent company, Mitsubishi Chemical Group.

The deal, which is expected to close in 2025’s third quarter, will set up Tanabe Pharma as an independent company poised to benefit from Bain’s financial prowess and industry expertise. 

https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/merck-kgaa-sets-its-sights-acquisition-ogsiveo-maker-springworks-report