{"schema_version":"1.0","type":"article","title":"Merck KGaA's $1.3B Iron Bet Ends Bloodletting, Not Besremi","url":"https://drugnews.com.tw/articles/2026-10-24-merck-kgaa-silence-divesiran-polycythemia-vera-besremi-en.html","markdown_url":"https://drugnews.com.tw/articles/2026-10-24-merck-kgaa-silence-divesiran-polycythemia-vera-besremi-en.md","lang":"en","date":"2026-10-24","publish_at":"2026-10-24T08:00:00+08:00","updated_at":"2026-10-24","category":"商業分析系列","topic":"BD / 授權","tags":["polycythemia vera","phlebotomy","Merck KGaA","divesiran","PharmaEssentia Besremi"],"summary":"PV patients still get blood drawn every few weeks. On Oct 19 Merck KGaA bid $1.3B for divesiran: 88% phlebotomy-free in Phase 2, one shot every 3 months. It replaces the blood draw, not PharmaEssentia's Besremi.","key_points":["Iron-restricting drugs (Takeda's Mimrylo and Merck KGaA's divesiran) will replace routine phlebotomy in polycythemia vera but not PharmaEssentia's Besremi: PharmaEssentia's cumulative January-May 2027 consolidated revenue will still grow at least 30% year over year when reported in June 2027.","Merck KGaA announced on October 19, 2026 that it will acquire Silence Therapeutics for $20 per ADS in cash, about $1.3 billion, centered on the siRNA drug divesiran; closing is expected in Q1 2027.","In the 48-patient Phase 2 SANRECO trial, 88% of divesiran patients needed no phlebotomy in weeks 18-36 (placebo 19%); Takeda's weekly Mimrylo, FDA-approved on August 28, 2026, kept 76.9% phlebotomy-free in Phase 3 VERIFY (placebo 32.9%)."],"facts":[{"claim":"Merck KGaA acquisition of Silence Therapeutics, total value (announced 2026-10-19)","value":1.3,"unit":"USD billion","as_of":"2026-10-19","source":"https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/merck-kgaa-buys-silence-13b-deal-biotechs-blood-cancer-sirna-drug"},{"claim":"Cash price per Silence ADS","value":20,"unit":"USD","as_of":"2026-10-19","source":"https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/merck-kgaa-buys-silence-13b-deal-biotechs-blood-cancer-sirna-drug"},{"claim":"Expected closing of the Silence acquisition","value":"Q1 2027","unit":"","as_of":"2026-10-19","source":"https://www.biopharmadive.com/news/merck-kgaa-rnai-13b-silence-buyout-blood-disorder-polycythemia-vera/833336/"},{"claim":"Enterprise value of Merck KGaA's June 2026 Bio-Techne acquisition","value":11.3,"unit":"USD billion","as_of":"2026-10-19","source":"https://qz.com/merck-kgaa-silence-therapeutics-acquisition-biotech-101926"},{"claim":"Patients enrolled in divesiran Phase 2 SANRECO","value":48,"unit":"patients","as_of":"2026-08-10","source":"https://www.curetoday.com/view/divesiran-eliminates-need-for-phlebotomy-in-88-of-patients-with-polycythemia-vera"},{"claim":"SANRECO weeks 18-36 phlebotomy-free response, divesiran","value":88,"unit":"%","as_of":"2026-08-10","source":"https://www.curetoday.com/view/divesiran-eliminates-need-for-phlebotomy-in-88-of-patients-with-polycythemia-vera"},{"claim":"SANRECO weeks 18-36 phlebotomy-free response, placebo","value":19,"unit":"%","as_of":"2026-08-10","source":"https://www.curetoday.com/view/divesiran-eliminates-need-for-phlebotomy-in-88-of-patients-with-polycythemia-vera"},{"claim":"SANRECO response, every-12-week dosing arm","value":81.3,"unit":"%","as_of":"2026-08-10","source":"https://www.curetoday.com/view/divesiran-eliminates-need-for-phlebotomy-in-88-of-patients-with-polycythemia-vera"},{"claim":"SANRECO mean phlebotomies per patient weeks 0-36, divesiran","value":0.2,"unit":"phlebotomies per patient","as_of":"2026-08-10","source":"https://www.curetoday.com/view/divesiran-eliminates-need-for-phlebotomy-in-88-of-patients-with-polycythemia-vera"},{"claim":"SANRECO mean phlebotomies per patient weeks 0-36, placebo","value":2.1,"unit":"phlebotomies per patient","as_of":"2026-08-10","source":"https://www.curetoday.com/view/divesiran-eliminates-need-for-phlebotomy-in-88-of-patients-with-polycythemia-vera"},{"claim":"FDA approval date of Mimrylo (rusfertide)","value":"2026-08-28","unit":"","as_of":"2026-08-28","source":"https://www.cancernetwork.com/view/fda-approves-rusfertide-in-polycythemia-vera"},{"claim":"Patients enrolled in Mimrylo Phase 3 VERIFY","value":293,"unit":"patients","as_of":"2026-08-28","source":"https://www.takeda.com/en-us/newsroom/news-releases/2026/fda-approval-mimrylo/"},{"claim":"VERIFY phlebotomy-free over 32 weeks, Mimrylo","value":76.9,"unit":"%","as_of":"2026-08-28","source":"https://www.cancernetwork.com/view/fda-approves-rusfertide-in-polycythemia-vera"},{"claim":"VERIFY phlebotomy-free over 32 weeks, placebo","value":32.9,"unit":"%","as_of":"2026-08-28","source":"https://www.cancernetwork.com/view/fda-approves-rusfertide-in-polycythemia-vera"},{"claim":"Mimrylo injection-site reaction rate (most common adverse reaction)","value":56,"unit":"%","as_of":"2026-08-28","source":"https://www.takeda.com/en-us/newsroom/news-releases/2026/fda-approval-mimrylo/"},{"claim":"Jakafi 2025 sales","value":3.1,"unit":"USD billion","as_of":"2026-08-31","source":"https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/cusp-pharmaessentia-gains-fda-label-expansion-besremi"},{"claim":"PharmaEssentia September 2026 consolidated revenue","value":2.635,"unit":"NT$ billion","as_of":"2026-10-06","source":"https://www.moneydj.com/kmdj/news/newsviewer.aspx?a=2b08dc30-0dfd-49b5-92d9-64fae652da38"},{"claim":"PharmaEssentia September 2026 revenue growth year over year","value":99.98,"unit":"%","as_of":"2026-10-06","source":"https://www.moneydj.com/kmdj/news/newsviewer.aspx?a=2b08dc30-0dfd-49b5-92d9-64fae652da38"},{"claim":"PharmaEssentia January-September 2026 cumulative revenue","value":19.737,"unit":"NT$ billion","as_of":"2026-10-06","source":"https://news.cnyes.com/news/id/6619391"},{"claim":"PharmaEssentia January-September 2026 cumulative revenue growth","value":83.54,"unit":"%","as_of":"2026-10-06","source":"https://news.cnyes.com/news/id/6619391"},{"claim":"Year of the previous new FDA approval for ET before Besremi's August 2026 label","value":1997,"unit":"year","as_of":"2026-08-31","source":"https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/cusp-pharmaessentia-gains-fda-label-expansion-besremi"},{"claim":"Consecutive years Ropeg (Besremi) listed as NCCN first-line PV option","value":4,"unit":"years","as_of":"2026-10-06","source":"https://news.cnyes.com/news/id/6619391"},{"claim":"SANRECO response, every-6-week dosing arm","value":93.8,"unit":"%","as_of":"2026-08-10","source":"https://www.curetoday.com/view/divesiran-eliminates-need-for-phlebotomy-in-88-of-patients-with-polycythemia-vera"},{"claim":"Silence cash and equivalents as of June 30, 2026","value":72,"unit":"USD million","as_of":"2026-06-30","source":"https://www.biopharmadive.com/news/merck-kgaa-rnai-13b-silence-buyout-blood-disorder-polycythemia-vera/833336/"},{"claim":"Approximate US PV patient population (Takeda)","value":90000,"unit":"patients","as_of":"2026-08-28","source":"https://www.takeda.com/en-us/newsroom/news-releases/2026/fda-approval-mimrylo/"}],"sections":["01 | Why pay $1.3 billion for a Phase 2 drug?","02 | The disease lives in the marrow. The drugs work in the liver","03 | Weekly shots versus quarterly shots: Takeda has about three years","04 | Taiwan's PharmaEssentia: the layer iron drugs cannot reach","References"],"references":[{"title":"Merck KGaA buys Silence in $1.3B deal after siRNA drug's phase 2 blood cancer win","source":"Fierce Biotech","date":"2026-10-19","url":"https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/merck-kgaa-buys-silence-13b-deal-biotechs-blood-cancer-sirna-drug"},{"title":"Merck KGaA bets on RNAi with $1.3B Silence buyout","source":"BioPharma Dive","date":"2026-10-19","url":"https://www.biopharmadive.com/news/merck-kgaa-rnai-13b-silence-buyout-blood-disorder-polycythemia-vera/833336/"},{"title":"Merck KGaA to buy Silence Therapeutics for $1.3 billion","source":"Quartz","date":"2026-10-19","url":"https://qz.com/merck-kgaa-silence-therapeutics-acquisition-biotech-101926"},{"title":"Silence Therapeutics letter to investigators on Merck KGaA acquisition (Form DEFA14A, Ex. 99.4","source":"SEC","date":"2026-10-19","url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001479615/000119312526425238/d189864dex994.htm"},{"title":"Divesiran eliminates need for phlebotomy in 88% of patients with polycythemia vera","source":"CURE","date":"2026-08-10","url":"https://www.curetoday.com/view/divesiran-eliminates-need-for-phlebotomy-in-88-of-patients-with-polycythemia-vera"},{"title":"FDA Approves MIMRYLO (rusfertide) for Polycythemia Vera","source":"Takeda","date":"2026-08-28","url":"https://www.takeda.com/en-us/newsroom/news-releases/2026/fda-approval-mimrylo/"},{"title":"FDA approves rusfertide in polycythemia vera","source":"CancerNetwork","date":"2026-08-28","url":"https://www.cancernetwork.com/view/fda-approves-rusfertide-in-polycythemia-vera"},{"title":"On the 'cusp,' PharmaEssentia gains FDA label expansion for Besremi","source":"Fierce Pharma","date":"2026-08-31","url":"https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/cusp-pharmaessentia-gains-fda-label-expansion-besremi"},{"title":"PharmaEssentia September revenue doubles year over year (in Chinese","source":"Anue (cnyes","date":"2026-10-06","url":"https://news.cnyes.com/news/id/6619391"},{"title":"PharmaEssentia September 2026 revenue NT$2.635 billion, up 99.98% (in Chinese","source":"MoneyDJ","date":"2026-10-06","url":"https://www.moneydj.com/kmdj/news/newsviewer.aspx?a=2b08dc30-0dfd-49b5-92d9-64fae652da38"},{"title":"Besremi (ropeginterferon alfa-2b) prescribing information","source":"Drugs.com","date":"2026-10-20","url":"https://www.drugs.com/pro/besremi.html"}],"images":[{"alt":"Figure 1 | Three drugs, three targets","url":"https://drugnews.com.tw/assets/articles/merck-kgaa-silence-divesiran-polycythemia-vera-besremi-en/figure-01.png"},{"alt":"Figure 2 | Share of patients free of phlebotomy","url":"https://drugnews.com.tw/assets/articles/merck-kgaa-silence-divesiran-polycythemia-vera-besremi-en/figure-02.png"},{"alt":"Figure 3 | One yardstick for three PV drugs","url":"https://drugnews.com.tw/assets/articles/merck-kgaa-silence-divesiran-polycythemia-vera-besremi-en/figure-03.png"},{"alt":"Figure 4 | From bloodletting to iron drugs","url":"https://drugnews.com.tw/assets/articles/merck-kgaa-silence-divesiran-polycythemia-vera-besremi-en/figure-04.png"}],"cover_image":"https://drugnews.com.tw/assets/articles/merck-kgaa-silence-divesiran-polycythemia-vera-besremi-en/cover.png","publisher":{"name":"Drugnews｜藥時事","url":"https://drugnews.com.tw/","profile":"https://drugnews.com.tw/brand-profile.json"},"citation":"Drugnews｜藥時事（2026-10-24）。Merck KGaA's $1.3B Iron Bet Ends Bloodletting, Not Besremi。https://drugnews.com.tw/articles/2026-10-24-merck-kgaa-silence-divesiran-polycythemia-vera-besremi-en.html","disclaimer":"This article is intended for industry research and knowledge sharing only. It does not constitute investment, medical, fundraising, or individual stock advice.","translations":{},"relationship":"independent_editorial","disclosure_url":"https://drugnews.com.tw/policy/"}