Pharma BD Deal Intelligence
Bayer bought its way out of a lawsuit and into full control: $160M cash resolved the 2009 litigation and handed Bayer sole decision-making on regorafenib, which went on to win speedy FDA approval at $9,350/month with $1.25B+ peak-sales expectations — a bargain settlement in hindsight.
Outcome grade pending — assessed 5 years post-close.
Full analysis, sources & comparables →Under a Settlement Agreement entered into on October 11, 2011, Onyx and Bayer agreed to settle and dismiss all claims related to the complaint filed by Onyx…
Frames the settlement factually as resolution of the dispute — 'a deal has now been reached, and legal proceedings have been dropped' — without evaluating the…
FierceBiotech reported the speedy FDA approval of regorafenib at $9,350/month with analyst peak-sales expectations of $1.25B+, validating Bayer's decision to…
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Bayer and Onyx restructured their global oncology collaboration: Bayer gained sole decision-making for regorafenib in exchange for $160M cash settlement and royalty on regorafenib. Bayer also bought out Onyx's Japan Nexavar royalty rights.
Assessment window: 10yr post-close.
$1.3B Peak sales expectation for regorafenib (analyst consensus pre-launch)
Metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) is advanced colon or rectal cancer that has spread beyond the original site, typically to the liver or lungs. Patients who progress through standard chemotherapy backbones (FOLFOX/FOLFIRI) and targeted biologics (bevacizumab, cetuximab, panitumumab) have historically had few effective options and short survival, making third-line therapy a high unmet-need niche.
At the time of the 2011 restructuring, the mCRC armamentarium centered on Roche's Avastin (bevacizumab), Lilly/BMS Erbitux (cetuximab), Amgen's Vectibix (panitumumab), and the FOLFOX/FOLFIRI cytotoxic backbones. Bayer/Onyx's Nexavar (sorafenib) was approved in HCC and RCC but had failed in CRC. Regorafenib — structurally distinguished from sorafenib by a single fluorine atom, which sparked Onyx's 2009 lawsuit — was Bayer's wholly-owned multikinase inhibitor (VEGFR1-3, TIE2, KIT, RET, RAF, PDGFR) being advanced as the first oral salvage option for chemo-refractory mCRC. The CORRECT Phase 3 trial later showed a statistically significant but modest OS improvement (6.4 vs 5.0 months), supporting FDA approval as Stivarga in September 2012 with a list price of ~$9,350/month and analyst peak-sales estimates of $1.25B+. The 2011 restructuring resolved Onyx's litigation, gave Bayer sole decision rights on regorafenib in exchange for $160M cash plus a 20% royalty to Onyx and US co-promotion, and bought out Onyx's Japan Nexavar royalty. The deal cleared the runway for a unified Bayer-led launch and is generally viewed as a value-preserving compromise — Onyx monetized litigation risk while retaining royalty exposure to a likely launch. Source: https://www.biospace.com/onyx-pharmaceuticals-inc-bayer-healthcare-restructure-oncology-agreement-announce-settlement-reached-in-litigation-b-onyx-b-gets-160m-in-sett
| Deal | Year | Value | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bayer AG / Onyx Pharmaceuticals (this deal) | 2011 | $160M | — |
| Bayer AG / Schering AG | 2006 | $21.5B | 79 |
| Bayer AG / BlueRock Therapeutics | 2002 | $600M | 79 |
| Bayer AG / Merck & Co., Inc. | 2014 | $14.2B | 71 |
| Bayer AG / Schering AG (residual squeeze-out) | 2007 | $985M | 69 |
| Bayer AG / Arvinas, Inc. | 2019 | $1.0B | 59 |
| Bayer AG / Merck & Co. Inc. | 2014 | $14.2B | 56 |
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More: 2011 deals · Bayer AG deals · Oncology deals