Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) had a remarkable financial year in 2020 according to the latest financial results and one of the aspects of the earnings call that stood out was KEYTRUDA’s impressive performance.
KEYTRUDA turned out to be Merck’s best performing product out of the company’s rich portfolio of treatments. It is an antibody drug that is used for treating various types of cancer including stomach cancer, lymphoma and melanoma. The company announced key developments that will boost KEYTRUDA’S already impressive market performance.
Some of the developments include the FDA’s approval for KEYTRUDA as a combination treatment with chemotherapy to address unresectable or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer. The treatment combo will target patients whose tumors are characterized by PD-L1 expression. The drug also received the FDA’s regulatory greenlight for expanded use as a monotherapy for treating refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL).
Merck is setting itself up for strong growth opportunities through its robust pipeline
The expanded indications for KEYTRUDA are expected to help boost sales and profitability from the drug moving forward. The company also expects strong growth from other products such as Lynparza which recently received two approvals from the European Union.
The company is also optimistic about its pipeline antiviral product such as Molnupiravir and MK-7110 which it has been developing as COVID-19 treatments. It also has a variety of other therapeutics that contribute to its strong performance and will continue to do so, moving forward.
Merck expects its full year 2021 global sales to be between $51.8 Billion and $53.8 Billion, which will be higher than the $48.0 Billion global sales that the company reported for 2020. Sales forecast is courtesy of the company’s strong product lineup including the recent approvals and commercialization of approved treatments. The expectations for a strong performance might be further supported by collaborations and recent acquisitions.
Merck plans to continue implementing its science-based strategy to tap into future growth. It is the same strategy that has allowed it to leverage strong growth opportunities in the past year.