Propecia's Merck shows 5% Profit

Article by HairlossTalk.com

Merck & Co. Inc. said Friday its second-quarter profits rose 5 percent, a marked slowdown from earlier quarters, on competition from generic drugs and disappointing sales of its Vioxx arthritis treatment and cholesterol fighter Zocor...Merck & Co. Inc. said Friday its second-quarter profits rose 5 percent, a marked slowdown from earlier quarters, on competition from generic drugs and disappointing sales of its Vioxx arthritis treatment and cholesterol fighter Zocor.

The world's No. 3 drugmaker, a member of the Dow Jones industrial average, reported net income of $1.82 billion, or 78 cents a share, compared with $1.72 billion, or 73 cents a share, a year earlier.

Whitehouse Station, New Jersey-based Merck cut its earnings outlook in June to between 77 cents and 79 cents a share. Analysts on average were expecting an 81-cent profit at the time, according to research firm Thomson Financial/First Call.

Sales of newer drugs like Fosamax for osteoporosis and Singulair for asthma continued to soar, but heartburn drug Pepcid and hypertension treatment Vasotec saw revenues cut almost in half amid brutal competition from cheaper generics.

More generic competition is just ahead, as patents are slated to expire in October on ulcer drug Prilosec, by December on older cholesterol treatment Mevacor and by June, 2002 on hypertension treatment Prinivil.

And analysts are concerned since Merck is not expected to launch any major products in the next year to offset declining sales of the drugs losing ground to copycat medicines.

"As it is, they are relying on Vioxx, Fosamax and Zocor to pull them through. It remains to be seen whether they can maintain competitive growth through that generic competition while not introducing major new products," said analyst Mario Corso of Leerink Swann & Co.

The company had warned earlier that its full-year as well as second-quarter earnings would miss forecasts as a result of lower than expected Vioxx sales and the strong dollar, which lowers the value of sales in countries with weaker currencies.

Its earnings per share had enjoyed mid-teens percentage growth during the past year, taking flight on sales of Vioxx, which the company launched in mid 1999.

MERCK-MEDCO DRIVES SALES GROWTH

Merck said second-quarter net sales rose 25 percent to $11.9 billion, largely due to a 37 percent rise in prescriptions handled by the company's pharmaceutical benefits management arm, Merck-Medco.

But human health sales, including prescription drugs, edged up only 6 percent, as Pepcid sales tumbled 49 percent to $110 million and Vasotec dropped 44 percent to $295 million.

"Certainly, the pharmaceutical sales are less than I expected, and both Zocor and Vioxx sales were below my expectations," said Raymond James analyst Mike Krensavage.

- For more information on Propecia, view our Propecia Product Review
- Discuss Propecia with others: Antiandrogen Forums
- Looking to buy Propecia online? Propecia Shop

© HairlossTalk.com - All Rights Reserved.
The content found here is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice.
For permission to duplicate any content, please Contact Us.
Make sure you're Subscribed to the Newsletter! We never share your info.