Merck & Co already planning for a post-Keytruda world

21 June 2019

At its first investor day in five years, New Jersey, USA-based Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK) outlined key aspects of its clinical and commercial strategy, with chief executive Kenneth Frazier describing: “tremendous growth opportunities beyond Keytruda.”

The immuno-oncology drug Keytruda (pembrolizumab), the firm’s foremost asset, continues to sweep all before it. Sales exceeded $7 billion in 2018, mainly due to superior efficacy in lung cancer.

While there is no sign that the company’s leading blockbuster will slow down any time soon - analysts have forecast peak sales in excess of $15 billion - investors have long asked what could come next.

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