Drugmaker Merck ‘s posted first quarter revenues of $10.04 billion this week, an increase of 6 percent driven by a jump in sales of cancer blockbuster Keytruda.
However, a $1.4 billion charge for starting a research partnership with Japanese drugmaker Eisai dragged down profits by more than half, writes Linda A. Johnson at philly.com.
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Merck executives said they have plenty of money to do a deal of any size, with about $20 billion of cash on hand and room to borrow more, but they’re not necessarily looking for a mega-deal. They also stressed that Merck’s animal health business, which analysts have been pressing it to divest, provides both diversification and synergies with research in the human health division.
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