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Merck Drops Two HCV Combination Programs Amid Competition
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Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK - Free Report) announced that it is discontinuing further development of two of its next-generation hepatitis C (HCV) programs — MK-3682B and MK-3682C — as the market is becoming extremely crowded.
MK-3682B was an all-oral, triple combination regimen (3682/uprifosbuvir, in combination with grazoprevir and ruzasvir1) developed for the treatment of chronic HCV infection. MK-3682C was a combination of ruzasvir/uprifosbuvir.
Merck’s shares have risen 9.2% this year so far compared with a 16.4% increase for the industry.
The company will now focus on growing sales of its key HCV drug in the market, Zeptier, which is approved for use with ribavirin to treat chronic HCV genotype 1 or 4 infection. Zepatier, a once-daily, fixed-dose combination tablet containing the NS5A inhibitor elbasvir and the NS3/4A protease inhibitor grazoprevir, is gradually becoming a key top-line driver for Merck along with cancer drug Keytruda.
The medicine recorded sales of $517 million in the second quarter of 2017, much higher than $378 million in the first quarter, attributable to strong underlying demand trends in the United States, Europe and Japan as the company continues to launch Zepatier globally. However, we remind investors that at the second quarter conference call, management had warned that Zepatier uptake, going forward, may be impacted by the ongoing decline in overall patient volumes in many markets and increased competition.
The HCV market is getting crowded and is thus seeing increased pricing pressure. Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD - Free Report) markets blockbuster HCV drugs, Sovaldi and Harvoni, while other well-known names in this market are AbbVie Inc.’s (ABBV - Free Report) Viekira Pak, Bristol-Myers’ Daklinza and Johnson & Johnson’s (JNJ - Free Report) Olysio.
Moreover, other companies are also looking to bring new, improved, shorter-duration HCV treatments to market.
AbbVie’s pan-genotypic shorter-duration HCV regimen of glecaprevir/pibrentasvir (G/P), Mavyret, received approval in the United States., Canada and the EU in July/August. Meanwhile, Gilead already markets Epclusa, an all-oral, pan-genotypic, single tablet HCV regimen since 2016. Meanwhile, Gilead’s single-tablet regimen (STR) of Sovaldi, velpatasvir and voxilaprevir, Vosevi received approval in the United States, EU and Canada in July/August. Vosevi became the first once-daily STR available as a salvage therapy for patients infected with HCV genotype 1–6 who have failed prior treatment with DAA regimens including NS5A inhibitors.
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Merck Drops Two HCV Combination Programs Amid Competition
Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK - Free Report) announced that it is discontinuing further development of two of its next-generation hepatitis C (HCV) programs — MK-3682B and MK-3682C — as the market is becoming extremely crowded.
MK-3682B was an all-oral, triple combination regimen (3682/uprifosbuvir, in combination with grazoprevir and ruzasvir1) developed for the treatment of chronic HCV infection. MK-3682C was a combination of ruzasvir/uprifosbuvir.
Merck’s shares have risen 9.2% this year so far compared with a 16.4% increase for the industry.
The company will now focus on growing sales of its key HCV drug in the market, Zeptier, which is approved for use with ribavirin to treat chronic HCV genotype 1 or 4 infection. Zepatier, a once-daily, fixed-dose combination tablet containing the NS5A inhibitor elbasvir and the NS3/4A protease inhibitor grazoprevir, is gradually becoming a key top-line driver for Merck along with cancer drug Keytruda.
The medicine recorded sales of $517 million in the second quarter of 2017, much higher than $378 million in the first quarter, attributable to strong underlying demand trends in the United States, Europe and Japan as the company continues to launch Zepatier globally. However, we remind investors that at the second quarter conference call, management had warned that Zepatier uptake, going forward, may be impacted by the ongoing decline in overall patient volumes in many markets and increased competition.
The HCV market is getting crowded and is thus seeing increased pricing pressure. Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD - Free Report) markets blockbuster HCV drugs, Sovaldi and Harvoni, while other well-known names in this market are AbbVie Inc.’s (ABBV - Free Report) Viekira Pak, Bristol-Myers’ Daklinza and Johnson & Johnson’s (JNJ - Free Report) Olysio.
Moreover, other companies are also looking to bring new, improved, shorter-duration HCV treatments to market.
AbbVie’s pan-genotypic shorter-duration HCV regimen of glecaprevir/pibrentasvir (G/P), Mavyret, received approval in the United States., Canada and the EU in July/August. Meanwhile, Gilead already markets Epclusa, an all-oral, pan-genotypic, single tablet HCV regimen since 2016. Meanwhile, Gilead’s single-tablet regimen (STR) of Sovaldi, velpatasvir and voxilaprevir, Vosevi received approval in the United States, EU and Canada in July/August. Vosevi became the first once-daily STR available as a salvage therapy for patients infected with HCV genotype 1–6 who have failed prior treatment with DAA regimens including NS5A inhibitors.
Merck carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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And this outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. Over the years it has been remarkably consistent. From 2000 - Q1 2017, the composite yearly average gain for these strategies has beaten the market more than 11X over. Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that we're willing to share their latest stocks with you without cost or obligation.
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