Hints and tips:
...“We had many meetings with managers who said those mild asthmatics are our patients, they should not be using Singulair,” he says, referring to a rival’s product....
...As drugs such as Pfizer’s Lipitor, Bristol’s Plavix, Lilly’s Zyprexa and Merck’s Singulair lose patent protection, revenues are expected to fall at all four companies over the next few years....
...But it is one of five drugs made in Ireland – along with Pfizer’s Enbrel, Takeda’s Actos, Merck’s Singulair and Eli Lilly’s Zyprexa – either about to go off patent or to lose protection in the US within...
...The second-largest US drug maker by revenues predicted a relatively flat 2012, with profits expected to be hit by cheaper generic forms of its biggest product, asthma drug Singulair....
...Merck said it was facing headwinds from austerity measures and was bracing for the patent expiration next year of Singulair, its top-selling asthma medication that generates $5bn in annual sales....
...Among the brands to be marketed are Singulair for asthma, Arcoxia for pain and inflammation of joints, and Januvia for type 2 diabetes....
...The leading pharma companies are seeking to compensate for an estimated drop of more than $100bn in sales over the next five years on blockbusters such as Pfizer’s Lipitor, Wyeth’s Effexor, Merck’s Singulair...
...Merck, which makes the allergy drug Singulair, said net income in the first quarter to the end of March was $3.3bn, or $1.52 per share, up from $1.7bn, or 78 cents a share, a year ago....
...Merck’s strong quarter was boosted by sales of asthma drug Singulair, which were $1bn for the third quarter, up 17 per cent on the year....
...Singulair, a respiratory drug, was the only one of its blockbuster drugs to post sales growth - 9 per cent - in the first quarter....
...Nevertheless, Merck shares, which have been battered recently, rose 3 per cent to $30.78 in lunchtime trading, as Merck's main products, such as Singulair for asthma, performed well in the fourth quarter...
International Edition