Occupied with immunology and cancer, Merck KGaA hands off osteoarthritis drug to Novartis for €50M cash

By the time Merck KGaA published promising Phase II data for sprifermin — once tapped as a big prospect for the ailing R&D group — late last year, the German drugmaker made clear it was looking for a partner to take over its whole osteoarthritis pipeline. While sprifermin is still sitting in the portfolio, it’s managed to find a buyer for another drug.