Merck Confident In Keytruda’s Dominance In Lung Cancer, Despite Competitors’ Data

With Keytruda sales of more than $3bn during Q3 and roughly 80% market share in lung cancer, Merck indicates little worry about recent data readouts for BMS and AstraZeneca in NSCLC.

Two leading hard currencies - US Dollar versus Euro
Keytruda's revenue topped $3bn during the third quarter

Merck & Co. Inc.’s third- quarter revenue growth of 15% was driven largely by its cancer and vaccine portfolios, as Keytruda (pembrolizumab) notched worldwide sales of nearly $3.1bn, good for 62% growth year-over-year. The pharma told its quarterly earnings call on 29 October that it expects Keytruda to maintain its strong market-share hold in lung cancer despite positive readouts in the past week for competing immuno-oncology regimens from Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and AstraZeneca PLC.

Overall, Merck reported sales of $12.4bn for the third quarter as its vaccines business, headed up by the HPV preventative...

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