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BUSINESS A25
Wednesday 6 January 2016
Merck CEO: Eager for deals, strong prospects for new drugs
Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier speaks at a news conference in Dunmore, Pa. Frazier said he’s eager size.” They are raking in billions
to find opportunities to bolster Merck’s pipeline of experimental medicines, in 2016. Frazier noted Merck did per year because they’re
more deals last year than a vast improvement over
(AP Photo/Matt Rourke) any in recent memory. older medicines that barely
About half of Merck sales cured half of patients, re-
LINDA A. JOHNSON ing sales from new cancer panies. come from drugs initially quired frequent injections
AP Business Writer drug Keytruda. Frazier told analysts he’s discovered by research- and caused awful flu-like
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Mer- And Frazier predicted Mer- eager to find opportuni- ers elsewhere. Globally, symptoms over treatment
ck’s chief executive says ck will soon be a player ties to bolster Merck’s drug companies spent a record that can last up to a year.
the drugmaker is “raring to again in the lucrative hep- pipeline, willing to take $5.04 trillion on acquisitions Frazier predicts Merck’s
go” on deals this year, par- atitis C market. The world’s more risk and favors deals in 2015, and nearly one in Keytruda will remain a
ticularly for small and mid- fourth-biggest drugmaker that would position the four of those dollars was leader in immuno-oncol-
size acquisitions of com- was a leader until rivals Gil- Kenilworth, New Jersey for deals involving drug- ogy, a hot niche of drugs
panies or their experimen- ead Sciences Inc. and Ab- company competitively in makers, insurers and other that boost the immune sys-
tal drugs. CEO Kenneth bVie Inc. launched a new growing disease catego- health care companies. tem to better fight cancer.
Frazier, speaking Tuesday generation of medicines ries. “I am very eager to Analysts expect 2016 will Keytruda is approved for
at a Goldman Sachs con- that cure nearly every pa- look for opportunities to continue the surge of con- melanoma and the most
ference of CEOs of health tient in a few months. They augment our pipeline,” he solidation in the pharma- common form of lung can-
care companies in Bos- wiped out sales of older said. “There’s no way we ceutical industry. cer and is in testing against
ton, also said he expects hepatitis C medicines sold can invent enough stuff Asked about the hot issue about 30 more tumor types.
more approvals and grow- by Merck and other com- for a company of Merck’s of soaring drug prices, Fra- “We believe we can go
zier said critics aren’t con- head to head with Harvo-
sidering their value to pa- ni,” the market leader, Fra-
tients but added patients zier said, adding, “I don’t
sometimes can’t afford think people have gotten
their medicines, a problem their heads around how
he said the government big this field could be.”
and the drug industry must Credit Suisse recently pre-
address. Meanwhile, Mer- dicted the immuno-oncol-
ck is awaiting expected ogy market could grow to
U.S. regulatory approval of $42 billion annually.
its hepatitis C combination Merck does face one big
pill, elbasvir/grazoprevir, by headwind this year, as its
Jan. 28. It would compete No. 2 seller, the $2.5 billion-
with drugs including Gil- a-year cholesterol drug Ze-
ead’s Harvoni and Sovaldi tia, will soon lose sales to
and AbbVie’s Viekira Pak, cheaper generic copies.
which have list prices of In afternoon trading, Merck
more than $80,000 per shares rose 67 cents, or 1.3
treatment course. percent, to $53.15.q
Drugmaker Lilly’s 2016 forecast misses Street expectations
TOM MURPHY bumped up its annual fore- Containers of the drugs Cialis and Cymbalta, made by Eli Lilly includes potential can-
AP Business Writer cast for that year in Oc- & Co., are pictured on shelf at Nora Apothecary Pharmacy in cer treatments and an Al-
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Eli Lilly tober. Lilly reaffirmed on Indianapolis. Eli Lilly has dropped a lower-than-expected 2016 zheimer’s disease drug in
has dropped a lower-than- Tuesday that forecast for forecast on Wall Street after wrapping up a year in which its late-stage testing. Lilly now
expected 2016 forecast on adjusted 2015 earnings of stock soared above the broader market. has nine potential treat-
Wall Street after wrapping between $3.40 and $3.45 ments or diagnostic agents
up a year in which its stock per share. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings) that are either in late-stage
soared above the broader Bernstein analyst Dr. Tim clinical testing or have
market. Anderson said in a re- been submitted for ap-
The drugmaker said Tues- search note that Lilly’s fore- proval.
day that it expects ad- cast for 2016 actually calls “The pipeline looks good,
justed earnings in the new for “quite healthy” earnings and the (company’s)
year to range between and revenue growth com- revenue is likely to hit ex-
$3.45 and $3.55 per share, pared to its peers, when pectations over a longer
excluding charges like deal the impact of foreign ex- term,” said Erik Gordon, a
integration costs. It predicts change rates is excluded. professor at the University
revenue of between $20.2 Lilly, also known for the of Michigan’s Ross School
billion and $20.7 billion. erectile dysfunction drug of Business who follows the
Analysts forecast, on av- Cialis and its portfolio of pharmaceutical industry.
erage, earnings of $3.65 cancer treatments, has He added that analyst
per share on $21.36 billion been recovering from the projections for Lilly’s 2016
in revenue, according to loss of patents protecting earnings and revenue may
FactSet. key products like the anti- have been a little aggres-
Lilly’s outlook comes after depressant Cymbalta from sive. Shares of Lilly rose
the maker of the insulin cheaper generic drugs. $1.39, or 1.7 percent, to
Humalog topped analyst The company has invested $84.26 in afternoon trading
expectations for the first heavily in developing new Tuesday after it released its
three quarters of 2015 and drugs, and that portfolio forecast. q
