The Pharmaletter

One To Watch

Merck Serono

Merck Serono, a biopharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, manufactures, and commercializes prescription medicines of chemical and biological origin in specialist indications.

The company also provides a portfolio of cardiometabolic care and general medicine products, especially in emerging markets where patient need remains high.

The company develops drugs for neurodegenerative diseases, such as Rebif, a disease modifying drug to treat relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis; and Erbitux, an IgG1 monoclonal antibody targeting the epidermal growth factor receptor for treating squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, and metastatic colorectal cancer. The company also develops fertility drugs for various stages of the reproductive cycle and recombinant versions of various hormones to treat infertility, such as GONAL-f, a recombinant human follicle stimulating hormone.

It was formerly known as Serono SA and changed its name to Merck Serono S.A. in January 2007. The company was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Darmstadt, Germany with locations in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America, and Oceania. Merck Serono S.A. operates as a subsidiary of Merck KGaA.

Key Figures

€ Million	2014	2013
Total revenues	5,975.0	6,060.4
Sales	5,783.3	5,688.4
Operation result (EBIT) Margin (% of sales)	956.5 16.5%	793.1 13.9%
EBITDA Margin (% of sales)	1,786.0 30.9%	1,786.6 31,4%
EBIDTA pre one-time items Margin (% of sales)	1,830.9 31.7%	1,855.1 32.6%