Editing Merck Group (section)

=== 2010 onwards ===
[[File:01296LOW ARIAL V GERNSHEIM.jpg|thumb|Merck chemical production plant in [[Gernsheim]]]]
In 2010, Merck took over [[Billerica, Massachusetts|Billerica]] (MA) based [[Millipore Corporation]] for EUR 5.3 billion (US$7.2 billion).<ref name="finanznachrichten.de">{{cite web|url=http://www.finanznachrichten.de/nachrichten-2010-03/16260319-stocks-news-us-merck-kgaa-to-buy-millipore-for-dollar-6-bln-020.htm|title=STOCKS NEWS US-Merck KGaA to buy Millipore for $6 bln|date=1 March 2010|work=FinanzNachrichten.de}}</ref><ref name=cmg03012010>[http://ir.millipore.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=96824&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1396369&highlight= Merck KGaA and Millipore Announce Transaction]</ref> It is now Merck's life science business unit. With the acquisition of Millipore, Merck is consolidating its US holdings and shutting down the Gibbstown facility and warehouse. Gibbstown operations will be transferred to the new Philadelphia office and Millipore headquarters.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=631685 |website = [[Bloomberg News]]| title=Stocks }}{{Moved resource|date=May 2022}}</ref>

Merck Korea received the "Leading Investor Award" at the 5th Korea-EU [[Industrial Cooperation Day]] in 2011.{{cn|date=June 2024}}

In December 2013, the company bought [[AZ Electronic Materials]] SA (AZEM) for about $2.6 billion in cash to increase its offering of specialty chemicals to the electronics industry.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-05/merck-kgaa-to-buy-chemical-maker-az-for-2-6-billion.html |title=Merck KGaA to Buy Chemical Maker AZ for $2.6 Billion |website=[[Bloomberg News]] |date=6 December 2013}}</ref>

In September 2014 Merck halted the clinical development of two drug candidates in development with [[Oxygen Biotherapeutics]]. One drug candidate suffered a lack of success in [[patient recruitment]], with its MUC1 antigen-specific cancer [[immunotherapy]] drug, [[tecemotide]] (L-BLP25), missing its Phase I/II endpoint of increasing overall survival in patients with Stage III [[non-small cell lung cancer]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.genengnews.com/gen-news-highlights/merck-kgaa-oxygen-suspend-development-of-drug-candidates/81250341/|title=Merck KGaA, Oxygen Suspend Development of Drug Candidates|work=GEN|date=12 September 2014}}</ref> Later in September it was announced that the company would acquire [[Sigma-Aldrich]] for $17 billion.<ref>{{Cite news|url = http://www.genengnews.com/gen-news-highlights/merck-kgaa-to-acquire-sigma-aldrich-for-17b/81250377/|title = Merck KGaA to Acquire Sigma-Aldrich for $17B|last = Staff|date = 22 September 2014|work = [[Gen. Eng. Biotechnol. News|Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News]]|access-date = 5 April 2015}}</ref> After the acquisition was completed in 2015, Merck had around 50,000 employees.<ref name="Merck-Sigma-Aldrich-Acquisition">{{cite web|url=http://www.merckmillipore.com/NO/en/20151117_174251|title=Press Release: Merck Completes Sigma-Aldrich Acquisition}}</ref> In November 2014, Merck and [[Pfizer]] agreed a deal for the latter to sell the former sharing rights to develop an experimental immunotherapy drug for a fee of $850 million.<ref>{{Cite news|date=17 November 2014|title=Pfizer dampens Astra bid hopes with German Merck cancer deal|first1=Ludwig |last1=Burger |first2=Ben |last2=Hirschler|publisher=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-merck-pfizer-idUSKCN0J10LR20141117|access-date=6 July 2023}}</ref>

In October 2015, Merck revealed it would return the rights of the Kuvan drug to [[BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc.]] The drug is effective in the treatment of the rare genetic disorder [[PKU]], however Merck is moving away from genetics into [[cancer treatment]], [[immunology]] and [[neurology]].<ref>{{cite web|title= Germany's Merck sells rights to Kuvan back to BioMarin Pharma |url= https://www.reuters.com/article/us-merck-biomarin-pharma-reversal-idUSKCN0RV3SY20151001 |website=Reuters|date=1 October 2015}}</ref> In October, it was announced that [[Karl-Ludwig Kley]], CEO of Merck since April 2007, would retire in April 2016, and be succeeded by [[Stefan Oschmann]], who has been a member of the executive board since 2011.<ref name=WSJ>{{cite news|last1=Divac|first1=Natascha|title=Germany's Merck Names New CEO|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/germanys-merck-names-new-ceo-1444793469|access-date=14 October 2015|work=WSJ|date=13 October 2015}}</ref> The company started building new facilities for its R&D operations and a new visitor center at its Darmstadt site in the early 2010s. By 2015 the site's pyramid had been torn down as part of the renovations.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Smolka|first1=Klaus Max|title=German-American innovation for health|url=https://www.deutschland.de/en/topic/business/innovation-technology/german-american-innovation-for-health|work=deutschland.de, by the Societäts-Medien GmbH in cooperation with the Federal Foreign Office, Berlin.|date=28 December 2015|language=en}}</ref>
[[File:00846LOW COMPLETEHEADQUA A.jpg|thumb|Merck headquarters in [[Darmstadt]]]]

In April 2017, the company announced it had completed the acquisition of food safety testing company, [[BioControl Systems Inc.]]<ref>{{cite web |title=MilliporeSigma Acquires BioControl to Strengthen Position in Food Safety Testing |url=https://www.emdgroup.com/en/news/acquire_biocontrol_04_01_2017.html |publisher=Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany |access-date=9 May 2022 |location=Billerica, MA, USA |language=en |date=4 January 2017}}</ref> In August of the same year the company announced the acquisition of Natrix Separations for an undisclosed sum.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.genengnews.com/gen-news-highlights/milliporesigma-to-acquire-natrix-separations/81254863 | title=MilliporeSigma to Acquire Natrix Separations| date=28 August 2017}}</ref>

In April 2019, Merck announced it would acquire [[Versum Materials]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=7 October 2019|title=Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, Completes Acquisition of Versum Materials|work=Businesswire|url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191007005477/en/Merck-KGaA-Darmstadt-Germany-Completes-Acquisition-Versum}}</ref> The acquisition was completed in October 2019 and represented an equity value of about U$5.8 billion.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Segeberg|first=Friederike|title=Merck Completes Acquisition of Versum Materials|url=https://www.merckgroup.com/en/news/versum-closing-07-10-2019.html}}</ref> In the same year, Merck has also announced the acquisition of Intermolecular Inc, the California-based company for advanced materials. The acquisition was completed in September 2019 and represented an equity value of U$62 million.<ref>{{Cite news|date=20 September 2019|title=Merck Completes Acquisition of Intermolecular|work=Chemeurope|url=https://www.chemeurope.com/en/news/1162901/merck-completes-acquisition-of-intermolecular.html}}</ref>

In February 2020, Merck announced the divestment of its Allergopharma Business to Dermapharm, under an unspecified fee. The deal includes Merck's Portfolio in Europe and parts of Asia, including China and India.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Hargreaves|first=Ben|date=24 February 2020|title=Merck KGaA sells allergy business to focus on innovative medicine|work=Outsourcing-pharma.com|url=https://www.outsourcing-pharma.com/Article/2020/02/24/Merck-KGaA-divests-Allergopharma}}</ref>

In January 2021, [[MilliporeSigma]] announced it would acquire AmpTec to expand and enhance the businesses mRNA vaccine capabilities as well as its treatment and diagnostics offerings.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.biospace.com/article/releases/milliporesigma-acquires-amptec-to-expand-mrna-capabilities-for-vaccines-treatments-and-diagnostics/?s=79|title = MilliporeSigma Acquires AmpTec to Expand mRNA Capabilities for Vaccines, Treatments and Diagnostics| date=7 January 2021 }}</ref> In March, its Performance Materials division changed name to Electronics division.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.merckgroup.com/en/news/performance-materials-is-now-electronics-04-03-2021.html|title=Performance Materials Is Now Electronics: Merck Renames Business Sector Following Strategic Realignment|date=4 March 2021|access-date=2 June 2021}}</ref> In December of the same year, EMD Serono (Merck Group operations in the US and Canada) announced it would acquire Swiss-based [[Chord Therapeutics]] and its lead drug [[cladribine]], used in generalised [[myasthenia gravis]] and [[neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.biospace.com/article/releases/emd-serono-expands-neuroinflammatory-pipeline-with-acquisition-of-chord-therapeutics |title=EMD Serono Expands Neuroinflammatory Pipeline with Acquisition of Chord Therapeutics |date=20 December 2021 |website=www.biospace.com}}</ref>

====Merck consumer-health====
In September 2017, Merck said it is considering options for its consumer-health division, including a potential full or partial sale, or strategic partnership. An [[equity analyst]] estimated the unit could command a purchase price of €1.8 billion to €2.7 billion from a full sale.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Roland|first1=Denise|title=Germany's Merck Puts Consumer Drugs Business on the Block|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/germanys-merck-puts-consumer-drugs-business-on-the-block-1504616461|access-date=5 September 2017|work=Wall Street Journal|date=5 September 2017}}</ref> In December ''[[Reuters]]'' reported that both [[Nestlé]] and private equity owners of [[Stada Arzneimittel|Stada]]<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-merck-m-a-nestle/nestle-stada-prepare-rival-bids-for-germanys-merck-consumer-health-sources-idUSKBN1DV5R3 | title=Nestle, Stada prepare rival bids for Germany's Merck consumer| newspaper=Reuters| date=December 2017}}</ref> were preparing bids for Merck's consumer health group. Days later, Reuters again reported that [[Perrigo]] was also preparing a bid for the division in the region of €4 billion ($4.7 billion to $4.8 billion).<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-merck-m-a-perrigo-company/perrigo-lines-up-bid-for-mercks-consumer-health-unit-sources-idUKKBN1E82OF | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171214212022/https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-merck-m-a-perrigo-company/perrigo-lines-up-bid-for-mercks-consumer-health-unit-sources-idUKKBN1E82OF | url-status=dead | archive-date=14 December 2017 | title=Perrigo lines up bid for Merck's consumer health unit: Sources| newspaper=Reuters| date=14 December 2017}}</ref> In April 2018, Reuters reported that generic drug manufacturer, [[Mylan]] was in advanced discussions to acquire the consumer health business for between  €3.5–4 billion (£3–3.4 billion).<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-merck-consumer-health-mylan/mylan-seeks-deal-for-german-mercks-consumer-products-unit-sources-idUKKBN1HK12L | title=Mylan seeks deal for German Merck's consumer products unit: Sources| newspaper=Reuters| date=13 April 2018}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Later in the month, Reuters reported that [[Procter & Gamble]] would purchase the division for €3.4 billion euros (£2.96 billion; $4.2 billion).<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-merck-m-a-p-g/pg-to-buy-german-mercks-consumer-health-unit-for-4-2-billion-idUKKBN1HQ0EH | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180419125143/https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-merck-m-a-p-g/pg-to-buy-german-mercks-consumer-health-unit-for-4-2-billion-idUKKBN1HQ0EH | url-status=dead | archive-date=19 April 2018 | title=P&G to buy German Merck's consumer health unit for $4.2 billion| newspaper=Reuters| date=23 April 2018}}</ref>