So far in 2021, Miss has become a mixed bag of good and poor. Main regulatory approvals for blockbuster cancer immunotherapy Keytruda and recurrent heart disease treatment Verquvo have been received by the business. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rejected Keytruda as a medication for high-risk early-stage triple-negative breast cancer, and production of COVID-19 therapy MK-7110 was halted.
Merck’s first-quarter earnings were released before the market opened on Thursday, continuing the trend. There was poor news, as shown by the shares of a major pharmaceutical company dropping 5% in early trade. There is, though, any positive news. Here are some of the highlights from Merck’s first-quarter report according to NYSE OXY WS at https://www.webull.com/quote/nyse-oxy-ws.
Merck posted $12.1 billion in sales in the first quarter, essentially unchanged year over year. This figure came shy of Wall Street’s average forecast of $12.7 billion.
According to commonly agreed accounting standards, the drugmaker earned $3.18 billion in the first year, or $1.25 per share (GAAP). Merck had GAAP profits of $3.22 billion, or $1.26 per share, in the prior-year quarter.
Merck’s non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS) in the first quarter of 2021 is $1.40, down from $1.51 the year before. This figure was well short of analysts’ consensus forecast of $1.63 in non-GAAP EPS.
Under the figures
Keytruda, as anticipated, was Merck’s primary growth engine in the first quarter. The cancer immunotherapy’s sales increased 19 percent year over year to $3.9 billion. The COVID-19 pandemic, on the other hand, had a “dampening impact” on-demand for the blockbuster medication, according to Merck.
Lynparza, another cancer treatment, performed admirably as well. Merck’s share of the drug’s revenue, which it co-markets with AstraZeneca, increased by 57% year on year to $228 million. Bridion, a neuromuscular blockade, was another bright point, with revenue up 14% to $340 million.
Merck’s animal health division reported $1.4 billion in revenue in the first quarter, up 17% year over year. Increased demand for companion animal items was the primary driver of this development.
Merck’s vaccines division, on the other hand, was the company’s biggest source of trouble in the first quarter. Gardasil, the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, saw a 16 percent drop in sales year on year to $917 million. Pneumovax 23, a pneumococcal vaccine, saw a 36% drop in revenue to $171 million. Rotateq, a rotavirus vaccine, saw a 29 percent drop in sales to $158 million.
What’s the deal about Merck’s vaccines? The timing of shipments of Gardasil and Rotateq to China was part of the problem. The COVID-19 pandemic also influenced Gardasil and Pneumovax 23 sales. Merck also related some of Gardasil’s sales decrease to changing purchasing habits in the United States and Rotateq’s lower sales to poor demand in the United States.
However, this forecast suggests that Merck’s women’s wellness, biosimilars, and existing labels companies will not be spun off into a separate corporation (Organon) this year. For more stocks like idxnasdaq xndx, you can check at https://www.webull.com/quote/idxnasdaq-xndx.