Aug 4 Merck reported higher-than-expected second-quarter sales on Tuesday and raised its full-year revenue forecast on the strength of its top-selling cancer treatment Keytruda.
The U.S. drugmaker reported quarterly revenue of $16.61 billion, up 5% from a year earlier and above analysts’ average estimate of $16.36 billion, according to LSEG data
Merck reported a loss for the quarter due to a $5.7 billion charge from its acquisition of cancer drug developer Terns Pharmaceuticals. The company’s reported loss in the quarter was 13 cents per share, including the $2.31 per share charge from the deal. Analysts had expected an adjusted loss per share of 27 cents.
Sales of immunotherapy Keytruda, the world’s top-selling prescription medicine, rose 5% to $8.37 billion in the quarter, including $463 million from its newer subcutaneous formulation, Keytruda QLEX. That exceeded analysts’ estimates of $8.07 billion. Stronger-than-expected QLEX uptake contributed to the Keytruda beat, Chief Financial Officer Caroline Litchfield said in an interview. “We’re at double-digit of QLEX as a portion of the total business in the United States, and we are very much on a path that takes us to the 30% to 40% adoption by the end of 2027,” she said.