Merk is a leading U.S.-based pharmaceutical company known for blockbuster drugs like Keytruda, a top-selling cancer immunotherapy, and Gardasil, a widely used HPV vaccine. The company also develops vaccines, animal health products, and treatments across areas like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and infectious disease. Merck invests heavily in R&D and partnerships to grow its pipeline, especially in oncology and immunology, and remains one of the world’s top pharma firms by revenue.
However, Merck has recently entered the obesity treatment space by investing US$112 million upfront (with up to US$1.9 billion in milestone payments) to license HS‑10535, an oral GLP‑1 receptor agonist from China’s Hansoh Pharma—marking its first major push beyond diabetes therapies. More competition on the horizon for NVO. MRK said on Tuesday it was extending its pause on Gardasil shipments to China until at least the end of 2025 due to persistent weakness in demand for the blockbuster human papillomavirus vaccine, sending its shares down as much as 8%. This week’s earnings also underwhelmed, with decent earnings but soft sales, capped by a sharp decline in Gardasil revenue.
- Full-year 2025 revenue guidance was narrowed to $US64.3–65.3 billion, and adjusted EPS guidance slightly raised to $US8.87–8.97/share.
The trend is down, and it feels too early to catch the falling knife, but it’s worth monitoring:
- An aggressive call, but the risk/reward towards MRK looks interesting around $US70, similar look and feel to NVO.
