Merck & Co Inc (NYSE:MRK) stock rose 3.18% (As on February 4, 11:29:22 AM UTC-4, Source: Google Finance) after the company posted better than expected results for the fourth quarter of FY25. Merck’s flagship product, Keytruda, generated sales of $8.37 billion in the quarter, up 5%. Sales of the drug benefited from rapid uptake across earlier-stage indications and continued strong momentum in metastatic indications. Keytruda sales in the fourth quarter included $35 million in sales of Keytruda Qlex, the subcutaneous formulation of Keytruda.

Moreover, Alliance revenues from Lynparza and Lenvima also aided oncology sales in the fourth quarter. Merck has a deal with British pharma giant AstraZeneca AZN to co-develop and commercialize PARP inhibitor Lynparza and a similar one with Japan’s Eisai for its tyrosine kinase inhibitor, Lenvima. Alliance revenues from AZN-partnered Lynparza increased 4% to $389 million in the quarter, driven by higher demand globally. Lenvima alliance revenues totaled $272 million, up 6%. Welireg recorded sales of $220 million, up 37%. The drug’s sales benefited from higher demand in the United States as well as continued launch uptake in certain European markets. In vaccines, sales of HPV vaccines — Gardasil and Gardasil 9 — plunged 35% to $1.03 billion due to lower demand in China as well as lower sales in Japan. Proquad, M-M-R II and Varivax vaccines recorded combined sales of $619 million, up 3%. Merck’s newly launched pneumococcal 21-valent conjugate vaccine, Capvaxive, generated sales worth $279 million compared with $244 million reported in the previous quarter. In the hospital specialty portfolio, neuromuscular blockade medicine, Bridion injection, generated sales of $499 million in the quarter, up 11%. While the drug’s sales benefited from higher demand in the United States, the gains were offset by generic competition in certain international markets. In Diabetes, Januvia/Janumet franchise sales rose 3% year over year to $501 million. Sales of the drug were driven by higher net pricing in the United States, offset by lower demand in China and generic competition in most international markets.

MRK in the fourth quarter of FY25 has reported the adjusted earnings per share of $2.04, beating the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted earnings per share of $2.03, according to the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The company had reported the adjusted revenue growth of 5 percent to $16.40 billion in the fourth quarter of FY25, beating the analysts’ estimates for revenue of $16.19 billion.