Merck Reports Q1 2023 Financial Results: Keytruda Sales Reach $5.8B, HPV Vaccine Hits $2B, Molnupiravir Plummets by 88%

On April 27, MSD announced its Q1 performance for 2023, with revenue of $14.487 billion in the first quarter, a year-on-year decrease of 9%; excluding Molnupiravir, it increased by 11% year-on-year.

Among them, pharmaceutical business revenue was $12.721 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 10%, mainly due to poor sales performance in the fields of virology (mainly attributed to Molnupiravir) and diabetes.

R&D expenses in the first quarter of 2023 were $4.276 billion, a year-over-year increase of 66%, primarily driven by the $1.2 billion cost associated with the acquisition of Imago and $175 million related to the collaboration with Kelun-Biotech. Additionally, the increase was propelled by higher compensation and benefits expenses, reflecting an expanded workforce to support broadened clinical development activities, increased investment in discovery research and early-stage drug development, as well as higher clinical development spending.

Specifically, the sales of Keytruda reached $5.795 billion, representing a 20% year-over-year increase. The growth in Keytruda's sales was primarily driven by continued penetration in key cancer types such as non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), renal cell carcinoma, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), as well as the approval of new indications for earlier stages of cancer, including neoadjuvant/adjuvant treatment for TNBC.

In the vaccine sector, the cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil/Gardasil 9 contributed the most significant share, increasing by 35% year-over-year to $1.972 billion, reflecting strong demand outside the U.S., particularly in China. Sales of the 23-valent pneumococcal vaccine Pneumovax 23 plummeted by 44% to just $96 million, mainly due to declining demand in the U.S. market.

Lagevrio, a COVID-19 treatment drug, generated $392 million in revenue, an 88% decrease year-over-year, including sales adjustments in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Australia.

Moreover, the sales of MSD's two Type 2 diabetes drugs, Januvia/Janumet, also faced a decline, with a combined revenue of $880 million, representing a 29% decrease year-over-year. MSD attributed this to generic drug competition in several international markets, particularly in Europe and the U.S., along with reduced demand and pricing.

Looking ahead to the full year, MSD expects total sales for 2023 to be between $57.7 billion and $58.9 billion, with anticipated sales of Molnupiravir around $1 billion.

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