Pfizer and Merck KGaA end global collaboration for cancer therapy Bavencio

German pharma Merck KGaA (OTCPK:MKGAF) announced Monday that it regained exclusive worldwide rights for bladder cancer therapy Bavencio (avelumab) after Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) ended a multi-year agreement.
Bavencio is widely considered globally as the standard of care for first-line maintenance treatment of adults with urothelial carcinoma whose cancer has responded to platinum-based chemotherapy.
With the termination of the deal, Pfizer (PFE) has handed back the worldwide rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialize the treatment replacing its current profit share with a 15% royalty on sales.
Merck (OTCPK:MKKGY) discovered Bavencio in-house and signed an agreement with the New York-based pharma giant in 2014 to co-develop and co-commercialize the treatment globally.
“On behalf of Merck, I’d like to thank Pfizer for their partnership and collaboration over the last nine years, and for the role they have played in the success of BAVENCIO,” the Chief Executive of Merck (OTCPK:MKGAF) remarked.
In 2022, the anti-programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) antibody generated $271M for Pfizer (PFE), with ~52% YoY growth.