Tag: merck

Johnson & Johnson Sues to Block Medicare Drug Price Negotiations

Janssen, the pharmaceutical arm of Johnson & Johnson, filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government on Tuesday, joining others trying to prevent a program that allows Medicare the power to negotiate lower drug prices. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, argues that the Medicare drug price negotiation program…


Merck Facing Lawsuits for Allegedly Hiding Severe Psychiatric Side Effects of Asthma Drug

Pharmaceutical company Merck & Co. Inc. is facing lawsuits that accuse the firm of downplaying potential negative psychiatric effects of its asthma medication Singulair, including thoughts of suicide. Singulair, also known as montelukast, was launched by Merck in 1998, with the product label stating that the drug’s distribution in the brain was “minimal.” The company…


Merck Sues Biden Administration Over ‘Sham’ Drug Price Negotiation Program

Merck & Co. filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government on June 6, saying that Medicare’s new program, established under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), is a “sham” that violates the First and Fifth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. President Joe Biden signed the IRA into law in August of last year, allowing Medicare to…


HPV Vaccine: Is It Even Worth It?

California just passed a health bill that aims to increase vaccination rates in schools and colleges against a sexually transmitted virus.  Lawmakers believe vaccination against HPV, or the human papillomavirus, will help reduce the risk of rare cancers five to 20 years down the line. But many parents are calling the bill deceptive. Testimonies during…


Merck’s COVID-19 Drug Fails to Show ‘Statistically Significant Reduction’ in Infection Risk

The phase 3 clinical trial of Merck’s COVID-19 antiviral molnupiravir, branded as Lagevrio, has ended up in failure, as participants who took the medication did not exhibit any significant reduction in the risk of contracting the illness. The trial was conducted among 1,500 participants who randomly received Lagevrio or a placebo orally every 12 hours…


Researchers Link COVID-19 Drug to New Virus Mutations in Patients

A widely used COVID-19 treatment drug could be linked to mutations that create new variants of the disease, according to researchers in a new pre-print study. Published in Medxriv (pdf), researchers cited an analysis of more than 13 million viral genomes in worldwide databases and found that the drug Lagevrio, also known as molnupiravir, that there were mutations…


Merck Opts to Develop, Sell Cancer Vaccine With Moderna

Merck & Co. Inc. opted to jointly develop and potentially sell a personalized mRNA vaccine with Moderna Inc. for a $250 million upfront payment on Wednesday, sending the vaccine maker’s shares up over 8 percent. Moderna’s experimental vaccine is being tested in combination with Merck’s blockbuster cancer immunotherapy, Keytruda, in a mid-stage trial to treat…


Merck’s Antiviral COVID-19 Pill Approved in Singapore

Singapore has approved a second oral antiviral drug for treating COVID-19. Molnupiravir, branded as Lagevrio, was granted interim authorization under the Pandemic Special Access Route (PSAR) by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) on April 19. The medicine was approved for treating mild to moderate COVID-19 patients aged 18 and above, who are at risk of…


Merck Raises 2022 Forecast as COVID Pill, Cancer Drug Fuels Profit Beat

Merck & Co. on Thursday reported quarterly profit and sales that beat estimates and raised its full-year forecasts on strong demand for top-selling cancer drug Keytruda, its Gardasil vaccine and COVID-19 antiviral pill molnupiravir. The U.S. drugmaker’s shares rose 1.8 percent to $85.90 before the opening bell as revenue rose 50 percent to $15.9 billion,…


Merck Sees 2022 Sales up Nearly 20 Percent, Mostly on New COVID Pill

Merck & Co said on Wednesday it expects its 2022 sales to increase as much as 18 percent over last year, mostly on sales of its new COVID-19 pill, molnupiravir. The drugmaker said sales of the COVID-19 drug were $952 million in the fourth quarter, and it expects another $5 billion to $6 billion in…