Merck reviews plans for new drugs, testing
Merck & Co. expects to seek U.S. approval in 2007 for drugs to treat HIV, cholesterol and insomnia, and it aims to have four more products in late-stage trials by midyear, the company said Tuesday.
The products due to be in late-stage trials are MK-524B, which raises “good” HDL cholesterol; weight-loss drug MK-364, which works through the same mechanism as Sanofi-Aventis’ Acomplia; MK-974 for migraine headaches; and MK-822, which treats osteoporosis by blocking a protein called Cathepsin K.
Merck also reviewed its drugs in earlier-stage trials, as the company aims to restore double-digit earnings growth by 2010 after recent patent expirations on older medicines and the withdrawal two years ago of its Vioxx arthritis treatment.
The drug maker laid out its plans in a meeting with investors, but Merck shares slipped 39 cents to $43.62 amid a perceived lack of excitement at the annual event.
“There really wasn’t much surprise,” Natexis Bleichroeder analyst Jon LeCroy said of the main portion of the meeting on drug research.
OrbiMed Advisors analyst Trevor Polischuk said he took a negative overall view of the presentations on Merck’s experimental drugs because side effects or disadvantages were seen among many of them.
