Following the successful closing of the Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) and the resolutions passed during the Extraordinary General Meeting of Serono, Merck KGaA has announced the official launch of Merck Serono S.A.
'With the combined innovative power of two strong companies, we have the unique opportunity to create a superb union of pharmaceutical chemistry and biotechnology,. said Elmar Schnee, new ceo of Merck Serono. 'We want to utilise the best of both companies. A total of 28 projects in clinical development, a combined R&D budget of approximately Euro 1bn and the two key growth drivers, Erbitux for oncology and Rebif for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, give us the best foundations for a successful future.'
The new company will be managed as a subsidiary of Merck KGaA by a management team comprising: Elmar Schnee, ceo of Merck Serono and member of the executive board of Merck KGaA; Olaf Klinger, chief financial officer of Merck Serono; and Francois Naef, chief administrative officer of Merck Serono.
The integration process will now move forward: following the conclusion of the planning phase, 25 integration teams will rapidly implement the integration processes throughout the company. The project will be led by an integration steering committee headed by Karl-Ludwig Kley, vice chairman of the executive board of Merck KGaA. For efficiency reasons, the planned production facility for Erbitux will be consolidated in Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland.
In the course of 2007, Merck Serono S.A. will be combined with the current Merck Ethicals division and operate as the new Merck Serono division within the pharmaceuticals business sector of Merck KGaA. The headquarters of this division will be in Geneva, Switzerland. This move will create a leading global supplier of biopharmaceutical products with pro forma sales (2005) of around €3.6bn and about 14,500 employees worldwide. The r&d budget amounts to about €1bn.
Special emphasis will be placed on the therapeutic areas of oncology, neurology and autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. In addition, Merck Serono will have a presence in the markets for infertility, metabolic endocrinology, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular treatments.
Globally, Merck Serono will operate under the new name and with a new logo. Pharmaceutical packaging will be changed to the new design in the coming months and years. In the US, the business will operate under the name EMD Serono.