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Keytruda Is King, But Merck Faces Questions About Business Development

 
• By Mary Jo Laffler

Keytruda continues to break records on the strength of its efficacy in lung cancer, and shows no signs of slowing down. But analysts were intrigued by repeated mentions of business development during Merck’s third quarter earnings call.

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Merck & Co. Inc.’s Keytruda may have taken the lead in global immuno-oncology sales, but the company isn’t resting on its laurels. As it treads a careful line of lauding pembrolizumab’s growth potential and avoiding becoming a one-product company, Merck used its third quarter earnings call Oct. 25 to push the idea of diversity. 

The company reported $9.7bn in pharmaceutical sales for the third quarter, up 5% year-over-year, driven primarily by oncology and hospital acute care. Keytruda was Merck’s top-seller, at $1.89bn – an 80% increase from $1.05bn in Q3 2017

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