---
title: Bayer sells cancer drug Stivarga to a pain specialist as big pharma keeps offloading mature medicines
description: Grünenthal is paying up to €375 million for Bayer's cancer drug Stivarga, the latest sign big pharma is offloading mature medicines to specialists.
author: Darie Nani (Editor-in-Chief)
date: 2026-09-21T11:52:15.828Z
updated: 2026-09-21T15:05:33.519Z
canonical: https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/grunenthal-stivarga-bayer-mature-medicine-specialists
image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/pexels-a-scientist-wearing-protective-gear-performs-a-meticulous-ex-15831822.jpg
categories: Markets
content_type: Analysis
region: Global
publication: Sovereign Magazine
schema_type: Article
---

Grünenthal has agreed to acquire Stivarga (regorafenib), an oral cancer medicine, from Bayer for up to €375 million, the two companies said. The deal is subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions, and Grünenthal expects it to close by the end of 2026 or early 2027. Stivarga is approved in more than 90 markets for metastatic colorectal cancer, liver cancer and gastrointestinal stromal tumours, given to patients who have already been treated with or cannot be given other available options.

Grünenthal, the buyer, is not an oncology company: based in Aachen and privately held, it describes itself as a global leader in pain management and research, and it is acquiring a cancer product because the product throws off cash and a focused company can run it more profitably than a diversified giant. The same reasoning is behind a series of recent European deals, and Stivarga is the latest.

## Grünenthal is buying the years before the patent runs out

Loss of exclusivity for Stivarga is anticipated in 2029 in the EU and 2030 in the US, after which cheaper generic regorafenib can enter and revenue falls. The company estimates Stivarga could add up to about €100 million to its consolidated EBITDA for the year ending 31 December 2027, and Baertschi said the transaction is immediately accretive to the business.

A mature medicine with a clear end date is exactly the kind of asset a specialist wants and a research-driven multinational increasingly does not. Bayer can redirect the capital tied up in a late-life brand toward its pipeline, while Grünenthal collects predictable earnings from a drug that no longer needs a discovery engine behind it.

> "This acquisition is a strong strategic fit for Grünenthal and reflects our disciplined M&A strategy of acquiring established medicines that address clear and ongoing medical needs and create long-term value."
> — Gabriel Baertschi, CEO, Grünenthal

## Sanofi did a version of the same thing a week earlier

One week before the Stivarga agreement, on 14 September 2026, Sanofi agreed to divest 20 established medicines and three manufacturing sites to Cheplapharm, a German specialist in mature and off-patent brands, [under a new strategic partnership](https://www.cheplapharm.com/en/press-news/news-detail/sanofi-and-cheplapharm-to-create-new-strategic-partnership-in-mature-medicines/). Cheplapharm, Advanz Pharma and Karo have built their businesses on precisely this trade: buying medicines a larger company no longer wants to manage, then running them for margin.

Two large sellers making the same move within a week suggests a settled strategy across the industry. Inside a multinational, a drug past its peak still needs commercial and manufacturing support that its declining sales no longer pay for. A specialist built to run exactly these products can carry that cost and still profit.

## Grünenthal has spent €2.6 billion building this operating model

Grünenthal says it has invested around €2.6 billion in [M&A](https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/2026-ma-recovery-narrow-megadeals-top) since 2017, and its earlier deals include the 2024 acquisition of the US company [Valinor Pharma](https://www.grunenthal.com/en/press-room/press-releases/2024/grunenthal-acquires-us-company-valinor-pharma). Each purchase adds an established product to a portfolio run for efficiency rather than growth, and Stivarga extends that portfolio into oncology.

These specialists carry lean commercial structures, buy the marketing rights and manufacturing know-how, and keep the medicine available in its approved markets for the remaining exclusivity period and often beyond. They do not fund large research programmes, which is why they can pay for a late-life asset and still make the numbers work.

## Analysts have been describing this shift for years

Consultants have described this split for several years: a move away from the diversified big-pharma conglomerate toward focused innovators that shed mature brands to specialists, letting each side focus. The seller frees capital and management attention for new science, and the buyer gains a product tuned to its low-overhead operating model.

Mature medicines are becoming a distinct asset class with their own set of buyers, priced against a countdown to the pharma patent cliff and valued for the cash they generate before it arrives.

## FAQ

**Q: What is Stivarga, and why would a company focused on pain buy a cancer drug?**
Stivarga (regorafenib) is a daily oral tablet that slows tumour growth by blocking several of the enzymes cancers use to build blood vessels and spread. It is prescribed after other treatments have stopped working, in colorectal cancer, liver cancer and gastrointestinal stromal tumours. Grünenthal does not need cancer research expertise to profit from it: the medicine is already developed, approved and selling in more than 90 markets, so the buyer's task is to keep supplying it efficiently rather than to advance the science.

**Q: What happens to a medicine like Stivarga after it is sold?**
For patients and prescribers, little changes at first: the new owner keeps the drug registered and supplied in its approved markets, usually on the same terms. The change is behind the scenes. A specialist runs the product with a leaner commercial team and lower costs, and concentrates on protecting sales through the remaining patent years rather than expanding the drug into new uses. When cheaper generic versions eventually arrive, the owner's revenue falls, which is why the price paid reflects those remaining years.

**Q: What is a loss of exclusivity, and why does it matter?**
Loss of exclusivity is the point at which a medicine's patent and other protections expire and generic versions can enter the market, usually cutting the original's revenue sharply. For Stivarga it is anticipated in 2029 in the EU and 2030 in the US, which is why Grünenthal is valuing the earnings available in the years before then.

**Q: Who buys these established medicines?**
Specialist companies built to operate mature brands, including Cheplapharm, Advanz Pharma, Karo and now Grünenthal. They acquire the rights to medicines that larger firms no longer wish to manage and run them with lean commercial structures for the cash they produce.