JERSEY CITY, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Organon (NYSE: OGN) today announced that it has acquired the rights from Bayer AG to Marvelon® and Mercilon®, combined oral hormonal daily contraceptive pills, in the People’s Republic of China, including Hong Kong and Macau, and has entered into an agreement to acquire the rights to these products in Vietnam. Marvelon and Mercilon are already owned, manufactured, and marketed by Organon as prescription oral contraceptives in 20 other markets. This acquisition gives Organon full global ownership of these brands (except in South Korea) by reacquiring the rights to them in these markets. The agreement to acquire the rights in Vietnam is expected to close in the first half of 2022 and is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval.
“This is an important opportunity for Organon as we look to grow our contraception portfolio and further bolster our offerings to women in all parts of the world through strategic business development,” said Susanne Fiedler, Chief Commercial Officer at Organon. “With Marvelon and Mercilon in the People’s Republic of China, including Hong Kong and Macau, and potentially Vietnam, we will have an opportunity to reach more women who are looking for contraceptive options in these markets and help to empower them with choice in an area of health that is important to them.”
Marvelon is currently available over the counter in the People’s Republic of China and both Marvelon and Mercilon are available over the counter in Hong Kong and Macau. Marvelon and Mercilon are currently available by prescription in Vietnam. Both contraceptives were acquired by Bayer AG in these markets from Merck & Co., Inc. in 2014 as part of the sale of Merck & Co.’s consumer care business. Marvelon and Mercilon are not available in the United States.
About Organon
Organon is a global healthcare company formed through a spin-off from Merck, (NYSE: MRK) known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, to focus on improving the health of women throughout their lives. Organon has a portfolio of more than 60 medicines and products across a range of therapeutic areas. Led by the women’s health portfolio coupled with an expanding biosimilars business and stable franchise of established medicines, Organon’s products produce strong cash flows that will support investments in innovation and future growth opportunities in women’s health. In addition, Organon is pursuing opportunities to collaborate with biopharmaceutical innovators looking to commercialize their products by leveraging its scale and presence in fast growing international markets.
Organon has a global footprint with significant scale and geographic reach, world-class commercial capabilities, and approximately 9,500 employees with headquarters located in Jersey City, New Jersey.
For more information, visit http://www.organon.com and connect with us on LinkedIn and Instagram.
Forward-Looking Statement of Organon
Except for historical information herein, this news release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, statements about management’s expectations about Organon’s acquisition of Marvelon and Mercilon, (including the expected timing and benefits thereof), Organon’s ability to grow its contraception portfolio, and its ability to bolster its offerings and reach more women. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as “hope,” or “hopes,” “expects,” “potential,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “will” or words of similar meaning. Such statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of Organon’s management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.
Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, an inability to execute on our business development strategy, an inability to obtain regulatory approval for such acquisition in Vietnam, a failure to realize the benefits of our acquisition of Marvelon and Mercilon or any other planned acquisitions; general industry conditions and competition; general economic factors, including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and emergence of variant strains; the impact of pharmaceutical industry regulation and health care legislation in the United States and internationally; global trends toward health care cost containment; technological advances; new products and patents attained by competitors; challenges inherent in new product development, including obtaining regulatory approval; Organon’s ability to accurately predict its future financial results and performance; Organon’s ability to accurately predict future market conditions; manufacturing difficulties or delays; financial instability of international economies and sovereign risk; difficulties developing and sustaining relationships with commercial counterparties; dependence on the effectiveness of Organon’s patents and other protections for innovative products; and the exposure to litigation, including patent litigation, and/or regulatory actions.
Organon undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in Organon’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including its registration statement on Form 10 and subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, available at the SEC’s Internet site (www.sec.gov).
