Business Breakdowns
Episode 189 Merck & Co: Blockbuster Drugs
Business Breakdowns

Episode 189: Merck & Co: Blockbuster Drugs

Business Breakdowns

Episode 189

Merck & Co: Blockbuster Drugs

Ashwin Varma is a medical student at UT Health San Antonio. We cover Merck's early history and how it became a juggernaut under the leadership of Ray Vogelos, what makes its Keytruda cancer treatment drug so unique, and the lessons about drug development and biotech investing that can be learned from its success.

This episode is brought to you by:

AlphaSense. AlphaSense has completely transformed the research process with cutting-edge AI technology and a vast collection of top-tier, reliable business content. Imagine completing your research five to ten times faster with search that delivers the most relevant results, helping you make high-conviction decisions with confidence. AlphaSense provides access to over 300 million premium documents, including company filings, earnings reports, press releases, and more from public and private companies. Invest Like the Best listeners can get a free trial now at Alpha-Sense.com/Invest and experience firsthand how AlphaSense and Tegus help you make smarter decisions faster.

Eight Sleep. Eight Sleep, the temperature-controlled mattress cover that heats or cools your mattress to transform your sleep. The Pod 4 Ultra is the new gold standard in intelligent sleep systems. It can be added to your current mattress like a fitted sheet and is been clinically proven to give you up to an hour more quality of sleep every night. The cooling capability can cool your side of the bed to 20 degrees below room temperature, all managed by the pod's autopilot feature, which adjusts the temperature throughout the night. Go to eightsleep.com/breakdowns and use the code glueguys for $350 off.

Show Notes

(00:00:00) Welcome to Business Breakdowns

(00:05:50) History and Evolution of Merck

(00:08:32) Merck's Blockbuster Era and Challenges

(00:10:51) Understanding the Pharma Industry

(00:15:32) Merck's Current Business and Financials

(00:20:48) Patent Protection and R&D Strategies

(00:35:00) Checkpoint Inhibitors: A Breakthrough in Cancer Treatment

(00:35:54) The Rise of Keytruda: From Trials to Triumph

(00:37:56) Keytruda's Expanding Indications and Market Impact

(00:39:56) Understanding Cancer Therapy Lines

(00:42:09) Keytruda's Competitive Landscape and Future Challenges

(00:46:33) Merck's Strategy for Post-Patent Success

(00:57:41) Leadership and Organizational Structure at Merck

(01:04:01) Lessons from breaking down Merck

Merck & Co: Blockbuster Drugs

Introduction

Zack
I'm Zack Fuss, and today we are breaking down one of the world's largest and oldest pharmaceutical companies, Merck. The company has been shaping medicine and fostering innovation for over 130 years. From its humble beginnings as a small family pharmacy in Germany, today's iteration of Merck has transformed into a near $300 billion market cap business with a particular strength in oncology.

At the heart of Merck's recent success is Keytruda, arguably the world's most important cancer drug. This single medication now generates over $25 billion in annual revenue and comprises nearly 50% of Merck's total revenue. The future of Merck will be highly dependent upon its ability to navigate an ensuing patent cliff for Keytruda in 2028 by successfully commercializing combination therapies and via a robust R&D and M&A pipeline.

Access the full transcript
Sign in or register to view episode transcripts.

Contact

Get in touch at help@joincolossus.com