# Merck KGaA (EMD Serono)

Source: https://onco.cc/companies/merck-kgaa/  
OnCo record `merck-kgaa` (Company). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Merck KGaA of Darmstadt, which trades as EMD Serono in North America, sells the anti-PD-L1 antibody avelumab, cetuximab outside the United States and the MET inhibitor tepotinib, and bought SpringWorks Therapeutics in 2025 to add nirogacestat and mirdametinib for rare tumours.

## Summary

Merck KGaA, the Darmstadt science and technology company that is distinct from the US Merck & Co., runs its healthcare business as EMD Serono in the United States and Canada. Its oncology medicines include avelumab (Bavencio), an anti-PD-L1 antibody used as maintenance in urothelial cancer and in Merkel cell carcinoma; cetuximab (Erbitux), which it markets outside North America; and tepotinib (Tepmetko) for MET exon 14-skipping non-small-cell lung cancer. On 1 July 2025 it completed its acquisition of SpringWorks Therapeutics at USD 47 a share in cash, bringing the gamma-secretase inhibitor nirogacestat for desmoid tumours and the MEK inhibitor mirdametinib for neurofibromatosis-related plexiform neurofibromas. In April 2025 it exercised its global option on Abbisko's CSF-1R inhibitor pimicotinib, which China's regulator approved in December 2025 for tenosynovial giant cell tumour. Company facts are from FDA approval records, SpringWorks' closing filing with the SEC and Abbisko's Hong Kong exchange announcements.

## Fields

- Kind: Company
- Last checked: 2026-10-29
- Also known as: EMD Serono; EMD Serono, Inc.; EMD Serono Research & Development Institute, Inc.; Merck Healthcare KGaA; Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany; Merck Serono
- Tags: fda-oce-applicant
- HQ: Darmstadt
- Type: pharma
- Website: https://www.merckgroup.com

## Notes

- Freshened 29 October 2026. SpringWorks closing date and price confirmed from SpringWorks' Form 8-K of 1 July 2025; the pimicotinib option and China approval from Abbisko's HKEX announcements of 1 April and 22 December 2025. Merck KGaA's own newsroom refused automated access, and other 2025-2026 oncology deals were not surveyed.

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merck_Group
- Official website: https://www.merckgroup.com
- SEC Form 8-K: completion of the SpringWorks acquisition (1 July 2025): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1773427/000110465925064445/tm2519396d1_8k.htm
- HKEX: Abbisko announces Merck's exercise of global option for pimicotinib (1 April 2025): https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2025/0401/2025040100115.pdf
- FDA: oncology and hematologic malignancies approval notifications: https://www.fda.gov/drugs/resources-information-approved-drugs/oncology-cancer-hematologic-malignancies-approval-notifications

## Connected records

- cancers: [Bladder & urothelial cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/urothelial/), [Colorectal cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/colorectal/), [Desmoid tumour](https://onco.cc/cancers/desmoid-tumour/), [Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/head-and-neck/), [Merkel cell carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/merkel-cell-carcinoma/), [MET exon 14 and MET-amplified non-small-cell lung cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/met-altered-nsclc/), [Non-small-cell lung cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/nsclc/), [Tenosynovial giant cell tumour (TGCT)](https://onco.cc/cancers/tenosynovial-giant-cell-tumour/)
- fronts: [Immunotherapy](https://onco.cc/fronts/immunotherapy/), [Targeted Therapy](https://onco.cc/fronts/targeted-therapy/)
- drugs: [Avelumab](https://onco.cc/drugs/avelumab/), [Capmatinib & tepotinib](https://onco.cc/drugs/capmatinib-tepotinib/), [Cetuximab](https://onco.cc/drugs/cetuximab/), [Mirdametinib](https://onco.cc/drugs/mirdametinib/), [Nirogacestat](https://onco.cc/drugs/nirogacestat/), [Pimicotinib](https://onco.cc/drugs/pimicotinib/), [Precemtabart tocentecan](https://onco.cc/drugs/precemtabart-tocentecan/), [Tepotinib](https://onco.cc/drugs/tepotinib/), [Xevinapant](https://onco.cc/drugs/xevinapant/)
- companies: [Abbisko Therapeutics](https://onco.cc/companies/abbisko/), [SpringWorks Therapeutics (Merck KGaA)](https://onco.cc/companies/springworks/), [Threshold Pharmaceuticals](https://onco.cc/companies/threshold-pharmaceuticals/)
- trials: [A Study of Nirogacestat in Japanese Adults With Desmoid Tumors/Aggressive Fibromatosis (DT/AF)](https://onco.cc/trials/nct07170644/), [A Study of Precemtabart Tocentecan With or Without Bevacizumab Compared to Trifluridine/Tipiracil Plus Bevacizumab in Participants With Previously Treated Metastatic Colorectal Cancer (PROCEADE-CRC-03)](https://onco.cc/trials/proceade-crc-03/), [A Study of the Safety and Efficacy of Various Combinations of Avelumab as Therapy in Locally Advanced or Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma (JAVELIN Bladder Medley)](https://onco.cc/trials/nct05327530/), [Avelumab Program Rollover Study](https://onco.cc/trials/nct03815643/), [Continuous or Intermittent Cetuximab Plus FOLFIRI as First-line Treatment in RAS/BRAF Wild-type mCRC Patients](https://onco.cc/trials/nct07004413/), [EXTREME](https://onco.cc/trials/extreme/), [JAVELIN Bladder 100](https://onco.cc/trials/javelin-bladder-100/), [JAVELIN Head and Neck 100](https://onco.cc/trials/javelin-hn-100/), [OPUS](https://onco.cc/trials/opus/), [Study of Anti-CEACAM5 ADC M9140 in Participants With Advanced Solid Tumors (PROCEADE PanTumor)](https://onco.cc/trials/nct06710132/), [Study of Pimicotinib in Japanese Participants With Tenosynovial Giant Cell Tumor (TGCT) (J-MANEUVER)](https://onco.cc/trials/nct07499362/), [VISION (tepotinib)](https://onco.cc/trials/nct02864992/)
- technologies: [Downstream purification (Protein A capture, viral clearance, polishing)](https://onco.cc/technologies/downstream-purification-chromatography/), [Single-use bioprocessing systems](https://onco.cc/technologies/single-use-bioprocessing/), [The ADC supply chain (antibody, payload-linker, conjugation, fill)](https://onco.cc/technologies/adc-supply-chain/)

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