Pneumococcal 21-valent Conjugate Vaccine

On February 4, Merck & Co. announced its 2024 financial results, revealing total revenue of $64.168 billion, marking a 7% increase year-on-year. The pharmaceutical segment alone generated $57.400 billion, also reflecting a 7% growth. However, research and development (R&D) spending dropped significantly to $17.938 billion, a decline of 41%. In a concerning trend, revenue from the Chinese market fell by 20% to $5.394 billion, representing 9.4% of Merck's global pharmaceutical sales. Despite these challenges, Merck's flagship product, Keytruda (pembrolizumab), set new sales records, achieving $29.482 billion in revenue, an 18% increase that accounted for nearly 46% of the company’s total revenue. As Keytruda continues to thrive, Merck is actively working to maximize its clinical and commercial value. This includes expanding early indications, exploring combination therapies, and developing a subcutaneous formulation. In November 2024, the subcutaneous formulation's Phase III study was successfully completed, reducing administration time to just 2-3 minutes compared to intravenous infusion. Other oncology products also performed well, with the world’s first HIF-2α inhibitor, Welireg, generating $509 million in sales, up 133% year-on-year. This drug received approval in China in November 2024. Additionally, Lynparza (olaparib) contributed $1.311 billion to the revenue. Merck's HPV vaccine, Gardasil/Gardasil 9, reported sales of $8.583 billion, a 3% decrease from the previous year. The decline was largely attributed to reduced demand in China, exacerbated by intense competition from domestic nine-valent vaccines and price wars involving two-valent HPV vaccines. In response, Merck has begun targeting the male market for HPV vaccination. In January 2025, Gardasil was approved in China for use in males aged 9-26, marking it as the first HPV vaccine approved for this demographic. Merck has also been proactive in updating its vaccine portfolio. In June 2024, it launched the 21-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, Capvaxive, enhancing its product lineup alongside Pneumovax 23 and Vaxneuvance. In the cardiovascular sector, the new pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) drug Winrevair has emerged as a star product. Approved in March 2024, it has quickly generated $419 million in sales within its first year. The drug has also been submitted for approval in China. Looking ahead, Merck is optimistic about its pipeline, which includes oral PCSK9 inhibitors and dual agonists for GLP-1R/GCGR expected to yield critical research data in 2025. The company is also ramping up efforts in infectious diseases and ophthalmology, with Clesrovimab submitted for U.S. approval as a single-dose RSV monoclonal antibody. Merck's business development activities have intensified, particularly in China, with several strategic acquisitions aimed at expanding its innovative capabilities. These include a $700 million acquisition of CD3/CD19 bispecific antibodies and a $588 million agreement for a PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibody project. Robert M. Davis, Merck’s Chairman and CEO, expressed confidence in the company’s long-term growth potential, stating, “Our strong growth in 2024 reflects the market demand for our innovative product portfolio, including Keytruda, Winrevair, and our robust animal health business.” Looking forward to 2025, Merck anticipates global sales between $64 billion and $65.6 billion.

The company's full-year 2024 sales totaled $63.6 billion. After a period of unsteady sales for its key COVID-19 products, Pfizer now sees COVID-related revenue volatility as “largely in the past.” In an investor presentation (PDF) Tuesday, the company made that declaration and added that its COVID-related uncertainties have “diminished" as of late.In the fourth quarter, a larger-than-expected sales haul of $4.1 billion from Pfizer's COVID vaccine Cominaty and its antiviral Paxlovid helped drive the company’s total revenue of $17.8 billion, which was ahead of consensus estimates, Leerink analysts wrote in a note to clients.Other products such as Eliquis, Nurtec, Vyndaqel and Ibrance helped drive the sales beat, as well. On the flip side, vaccines Prevnar and Abrysvo underperformed expectations. RSV vaccine Abrysvo specifically floundered in the fourth quarter. The product's sales fell 62% year over year to $198 million, a performance Pfizer attributed to the narrowing market opportunity afforded by new vaccination recommendations from the CDC.Last year, the agency recommended RSV vaccines for people 75 years and older and those ages 60 to 74 with a higher risk of severe disease. Previously, RSV vaccines were recommended for all adults ages 60 and older upon consultation with a doctor.Outside of the new recommendations, both Abrysvo and Prevnar face heavy-hitting competition. GSK’s Arexvy has been leading the charge in the RSV vaccine sales race so far. Elsewhere, Merck’s 21-serotype pneumococcal disease vaccine Capvaxive stands to edge in on Prevnar's turf in that field.However, with its $43 billion Seagen acquisition firmly under its belt, Pfizer has solid footing in the hot antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) market, Edward Jones healthcare analyst John Boylan pointed out in a note to clients. Boylan sees Pfizer as poised to return to “predictable growth” thanks to its new products and “significant” cost-reducing measures while COVID sales should eventually fluctuate based on the severity of the season.As it stands, the current COVID trends show the company's portfolio sustainability, Pfizer said. Paxlovid utilization remains “steady and consistent” with successive COVID waves, while the latest U.S. COVID vaccine administration figures remain “largely aligned” with last year's numbers, according to the presentation.Now, the “stage is set” for profit margin expansion, buoyed by commercial execution and cost-savings efforts, Pfizer added. Beyond its ongoing commercial efforts, this year the company expects four regulatory decisions, nine phase 3 readouts and 13 potential pivotal program starts from its pipeline.In 2024, Pfizer collected $63.6 billion in total revenues, representing 12% operational growth across non-COVID products. For 2025, the company is forecasting revenue in a range between $61 billion and $64 billion.