Merck progresses spinoff of Organon

US pharma giant Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK) has filed a Form 10 registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in connection with the intended spinoff of its women’s health, biosimilars and established brands businesses into a standalone, publicly-traded company, Organon.

Organon is the name of a Dutch legacy company that Merck acquired via a number of previous cumulative M&A deals that go back to 2007. The new Organon unit will register its common stock under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Merck first announced that it was planning to create a new pharmaceutical company with $6.5 billion in annual sales focused largely on women’s health drugs - such as Nexplanon (etonogestrel implant), a long-acting contraceptive implant, and some off-patent medicines, in February.