Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Peak Sales of Merck's Januvia Will Hit $10 Billion

“Bait the hook well; this fish will bite,” quipped Shakespeare’s Claudio in the playwright’s Much Ado About Nothing. To the contrary, investor shouldn’t bite – fears that the recent U.S. regulatory approval of Takeda’s Nesina (alogliptin) will mute the growth of Merck's (MRK-$43.10) Januvia franchise are unfounded. The Japanese drug maker’s DPP-4 inhibitor is attempting to launch on a crowded beachhead – facing established rivals, none of which have scored any notable inroads against Januvia. For example, Tradjenta (linagliptin), launched by Eli Lilly (LLY-$54.89) in June 2011, posted anemic sales in first-half 2012 of just $59.2 million (despite a niche marketing message focusing on alleged benefits for those type-2 diabetics with renal impairment). 

Editor David J Phillips does not hold a financial interest in any stocks mentioned in this article. The 10Q Detective has a Full Disclosure Policy.



1 comment:

  1. Thanks for the note David,
    Will watch and see how the Januvia franchise holds strong against increasing competition

    Still like Merck based both on fundamentals though:
    equisear.ch/stock/financials/MRK/#metrics

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