Merck sees growth in second quarter
pharmafile | July 30, 2012 | News story | Sales and Marketing | Cozaar, Merck, Q2, Singulair
Merck has posted a healthy sales increase for the second quarter, as its established drugs grew strongly.
Sales increased 1% for the quarter, up to $12.31 billion – but remove the negative impact of foreign exchange rates, and sales were actually up 5 per cent.
Growth drivers included its biggest selling drug, the respiratory disease treatment Singulair, up 6% on last year to $1.43 billion.
But Merck will soon lose this revenue when the drug loses its patent expiry later this year, and will need to look to its pipeline to help recreate these sales levels.
The biggest increase in sales came from its type II diabetes pill Januvia, which grew a massive 36% to $1.1 billion for the quarter – doubly impressive given the competitive market for these types of drugs.
Its combination treatment Janumet also fared well, growing 28% to $411 million, making Merck an increasingly dominant player in the type II diabetes market.
The biggest losers include its anti-inflammatory Remicade, coming after Merck gave certain rights to the drug back to Johnson & Johnson, its partner for the treatment.
The 2010 patent expiry of its heart drug Cozaar/Hyzaar also continued to impact sales, as revenues slipped 17% to $337 million.
Merck highlighted a number of drugs in late-stage development that it will be pinning its hopes on to help offset the loss from Singulair.
These include its investigational insomnia drug suvorexant, which in a recent Phase III study showed that it improved patients’ ability to fall asleep and stay asleep – Merck is looking to file the drug for regulatory approval by the end of the year.
It is also excited by its Phase III drug odanacatib, an investigational cathepsin-K inhibitor for osteoporosis.
Its recent Phase III trial has been concluded early due to its clinical success, and the firm expects to file regulatory applications for approval in the US and Europe in the first half of 2013.
Kenneth Frazier, chief executive of Merck, said: “This quarter we delivered strong operational performance by focusing on growth and execution. We achieved top- and bottom-line growth by advancing our core strategy and maintaining momentum across our businesses.
“The company remains focused on translating cutting-edge science into medically important products.
“We’re seeing significant progress in the pipeline this year, and we expect six major filings over the next 18 months, including suvorexant for insomnia and odanacatib for osteoporosis. This focus on innovation and execution will drive long-term shareholder value.”
Ben Adams
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