Keytruda is still going to be a solid sales performer. This could just be a blip, companies do pull filings for all sorts of reasons. Still, good for BMY.
Selloff in BMY most likely because of people thinking a merge was going to be announced.
Sales up 7 percent and eliquis up nearly 40 percent q3 2016 to q 2017 is huge. Missing a forecast by 2 cents is a silly reason for a selloff. The main takeaway is sales up 7 percent and Opdivo expanding. Who knows what synergies will occur in a merger except top management.
Slow and steady has been winning the race for Merck & Co. Inc.'s Keytruda in the multi-billion-dollar market for immune-boosting cancer medicines. Now it's being punished for that approach.
Merck on Friday revealed a change to a highly anticipated trial of Keytruda in combination with chemotherapy in newly diagnosed lung-cancer patients. It may push trial results into 2019, a year past previous expectations. Merck revealed later on Friday it was withdrawing an application for European approval of the combo based on a smaller earlier study. Shares dropped 6 percent on Friday and fell another 6 percent on Monday after analyst downgrades.
The delay may slow sales growth and make it likelier that Merck has to share more of the lung market with rivals. But the company deserves some credit for sticking to its cautious guns.