The drugmaker said sales of the COVID-19 drug rose to $952 million in the fourth quarter, and it expects additional sales of $5-6 billion for the drug in 2022. Merck developed the pill – and equitably shares the profits – with its partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutics.
Caroline Litchfield, Merck’s chief financial officer, said in an interview that it’s possible the company could exceed these sales estimates for molnupiravir, which are based on supply agreements already signed for around 10 million courses of the drug. Merck still plans to produce a total of 30 million molnupiravir treatments by the end of the year, she added.
“Depending on how the pandemic evolves, could this have a positive effect? Ms Litchfield said. “Yes, we have the supply to get more product to the markets.
Enthusiasm for the antiviral pill, which was once touted as a game-changer in the treatment of COVID-19, has died down since it was shown to be around 30% effective in reducing hospitalizations. during its clinical trial. A competing drug made by Pfizer Inc. performed significantly better in its trial, but supply of this pill is limited in the short term.
Merck reported fourth-quarter profit of $4.58 billion, or $1.80 a share, up from a year ago when it made $2.49 billion, or 98 cents a share. Analysts, on average, had expected earnings of $1.53 per share, according to Refinitiv IBES data.
Sales rose to $13.52 billion in the quarter, from $10.95 billion last year, driven by sales of molnupiravir and growth in cancer drug Keytruda and human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil. Analysts had forecast sales of about $13.2 billion for the quarter.
Merck said it expects 2022 earnings to be between $7.12 and $7.27 per share, slightly lower than analysts’ forecast of $7.29 per share. Revenue for 2022 is expected to be between $56.1 billion and $57.6 billion, compared to $48.7 billion last year.
According to Chief Financial Officer Mr Litchfield, the company plans to reinvest much of the cash from what could be a one-year windfall from molnupiravir into its business and to support business development.
“Our goal is to ensure meaningful business development. If this does not materialize, we will increase the level of share buybacks we make,” she said.