Merck Serono reports encouraging 2012 performance

Merck Serono's strong 2012 financial performance has contributed to a robust business year for its parent company Merck KGaA.

The group's report for the latest fiscal year showed that Merck KGaA generated 11.2 billion euros (9.81 billion pounds) in revenues during the 12 months, up by 8.7 percent year on year, with Merck Serono contributing 6.41 billion euros to this total.

This represented an 8.2 percent improvement on the pharmaceutical business's 2011 performance, thanks to its growing presence in the US and emerging markets, as well as rising sales of therapies such as Rebif and Erbitux.

Meanwhile, the company was also able to deliver extensive efficiency savings as part of the group-wide restructuring initiative Fit for 2018.

Karl-Ludwig Kley, chairman of the executive board of Merck KGaA, said: "Not only did we make progress with one of the most extensive change programmes in the 345-year history of the company, we also succeeded in further expanding our business in a challenging economic environment."

This comes after Merck Serono formed a new gastrointestinal disease-focused spin-off company called Calypso Biotech earlier this month, the sixth to be created through its Entrepreneur Partnership Programme.