Novartis Agrees To Acquire German Blood Cancer-Drug Developer MorphoSys For €2.7B

Monday, Novartis AG NVS made a voluntary public takeover offer to acquire MorphoSys AG MOR for €68 per share (or an aggregate of €2.7 billion), expanding and complementing Novartis pipeline in oncology while also enhancing Novartis global footprint in hematology.

As part of the agreement, Novartis will own pelabresib (CPI-0610), an investigational treatment option with a well-tolerated safety profile provided in combination with ruxolitinib for patients with myelofibrosis. 

It will also include tulmimetostat (CPI-0209), an early-stage investigational dual inhibitor of enhancer of zeste homolog 1 and 2 (EZH1 and EZH2) proteins currently being tested in patients with solid tumors or lymphomas. 

Separately, MorphoSys entered into a Purchase Agreement to sell and transfer all rights worldwide related to tafasitamab to Incyte Corporation INCY. 

Currently, MorphoSys partners with Incyte on the development and commercialization of tafasitamab.

“Pelabresib – the investigational therapy at the forefront of our promising oncology pipeline – has the potential to shift the treatment paradigm in myelofibrosis and further expand into other indications. Novartis will provide ample resources currently unavailable to MorphoSys as a standalone biotech company to help accelerate the development opportunities and maximize the commercialization potential of pelabresib at a greater speed and scale,” said Jean-Paul Kress, Chief Executive Officer of MorphoSys.”

Under the terms of MorphoSys’ Purchase Agreement, Incyte will obtain exclusive rights worldwide, assume full responsibility, and cover all costs for the development and commercialization of tafasitamab for $25 million. 

MorphoSys and Incyte have been collaborating on tafasitamab since 2020. 

Tafasitamab was co-marketed in the U.S. by MorphoSys and Incyte as Monjuvi (tafasitamab-cxix) and outside the U.S. by Incyte as Minjuvi.

Price Action: MOR stock is up 1.62% at $17.55, and NVS shares are down 0.22% at $103.24 during the premarket session on the last check Tuesday.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons