Swiss pharma giant Novartis to close biotech firm Morphosys

Novartis acquired Morphosys earlier this year for a total of €2.7 billion (CHF2.5 billion). Keystone-SDA

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.

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Novartis acquired Morphosys earlier this year for a total of €2.7 billion (CHF2.5 billion). With this acquisition, the Basel-based company was hoping to gain access to Pelabresib, a treatment in development for myelofibrosis, a potentially fatal chronic bone marrow disease.

But concerns have recently arisen about the efficacy and safety of this promising drug, according to the German magazine. A few weeks ago, Novartis re-assessed Morphosys and corrected its value by $800 million.

+ Novartis CEO: ‘Our strategy is bearing fruit’

“All merger-and-acquisition activities in research and development involve a certain degree of risk and depend on circumstances. Novartis regularly reviews its portfolio and organizational structure in order to be better positioned for the future and to meet patients’ needs,” the Basel-based pharmaceutical giant explained to WirtschaftsWoche.

Morphosys was founded in 1992 and is one of Germany’s oldest biotech companies. Until recently, the company’s shares were listed in Frankfurt and New York.

Translated from French with DeepL/gw

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