By Fineline Cube 
Global pharmaceutical company Merck (NYSE: MRK) released its Q1 2025 financial results, showing total sales increased by 1% year-on-year in constant currency terms to USD 15.53 billion. Pharmaceutical sales, however, decreased by -1% YOY to USD 13.64 billion. The decline was primarily due to falling demand in China for Gardasil, Merck’s human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, which saw global sales drop by -40% to USD 1.33 billion. Excluding Gardasil’s impact, Merck’s global sales grew by 8% YOY.
Key Drug Performances
The world’s top-selling drug in 2024, Keytruda (pembrolizumab), a programmed death-1 (PD-1) inhibitor, posted relatively subdued growth of 6% YOY to USD 7.2 billion. Januvia/Janumet (sitagliptin), a Type 2 diabetes drug, saw sales grow by 21% to USD 796 million. Winrevair (sotatercept), a newly launched pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) therapy, achieved USD 280 million in sales. Meanwhile, pediatric vaccines ProQuad, MMRII, and VariVax saw a -5% dip to USD 539 million.
Financial Adjustments
Merck maintained its outlook for full-year 2025 sales at USD 64.1 billion to USD 65.6 billion. However, the non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS) forecast was adjusted downwards to USD 8.82 to USD 8.97. This revision reflects the USD 200 million upfront payment made to China-based Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine in a March 2025 deal valued at up to USD 1.97 billion for ex-China rights to the lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) inhibitor HRS-5346. Additionally, MSD noted an expected USD 200 million increase in annual operating costs due to tariffs imposed by the US and Chinese governments.
Tariffs Impact
CEO Rob Davis highlighted during the earnings conference call that MSD is well-prepared for potential tariffs against the pharma sector. He emphasized that MSD has been investing in its supply chain since 2017, aiming to achieve regionalized manufacturing capabilities. “We’ve invested USD 12 billion in expanding our manufacturing footprint since the TCJA and expect to spend an additional USD 9-plus billion,” said Davis.-Fineline Info & Tech