Restructuring Plan

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Anonymous

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As part of Merck's restructuring, the company is creating a new oncology unit to focus on immunotherapy treatments, which stimulates patients' immune systems to fight back against cancer cells. Perlmutter sees tremendous promise in MK-3475, an immunotherapy treatment that could treat metastatic melanoma. During a phase 1 trial, 38% of patients dosed with MK-3475 reported a reduction in their tumor cells. The drug is currently in phase 2 trials, and will eventually be compared to Bristol-Myers Squibb and Roche's respective melanoma treatments, Yervoy and Zelboraf. Merck is also partnered with AstraZeneca to develop a new ovarian cancer drug, MK-1775.

Another product that has growth potential is ertugliflozin, a SGLT2 inhibitor that Merck is developing with Pfizer. SGLT2 inhibitors are a new class of orally administered drugs that help diabetes patients excrete more glucose through the urine, possibly reducing the amount of necessary insulin injections per day. Ertugliflozin is intended to compete against J&J's Invokana, the only FDA-approved SGLT2 on the market.
 




Anonymous said:
As part of Merck's restructuring, the company is creating a new oncology unit to focus on immunotherapy treatments, which stimulates patients' immune systems to fight back against cancer cells. Perlmutter sees tremendous promise in MK-3475, an immunotherapy treatment that could treat metastatic melanoma. During a phase 1 trial, 38% of patients dosed with MK-3475 reported a reduction in their tumor cells. The drug is currently in phase 2 trials, and will eventually be compared to Bristol-Myers Squibb and Roche's respective melanoma treatments, Yervoy and Zelboraf. Merck is also partnered with AstraZeneca to develop a new ovarian cancer drug, MK-1775.

Another product that has growth potential is ertugliflozin, a SGLT2 inhibitor that Merck is developing with Pfizer. SGLT2 inhibitors are a new class of orally administered drugs that help diabetes patients excrete more glucose through the urine, possibly reducing the amount of necessary insulin injections per day. Ertugliflozin is intended to compete against J&J's Invokana, the only FDA-approved SGLT2 on the market.
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Nice try. MK-3475 will eventually be compared to Bristol's BMS-936558 an immunotherapy treatment that could treat metastatic melanoma using the same mechanism. It too is in Phase II trials. In fact BMS has 23 trials registered with the antibody to PD-1 (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?term=BMS-936558&pg=1) to Merck's 7 (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?term=MK-3475&Search=Search). The big difference is that BMS already has Yervoy for CTLA-4 on the market. If we have learned anything about Pharma and oncology is that combo is the inevitable path forward. Guess who is ahead and who is the me-too.

Merck and Pfizer teaming up. Wow the two biggest numbskulls in the industry ready to kick some @ss. Here is the issue:

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/807889
Canagliflozin is the first SGLT2 inhibitor available in the United States, having been approved there in March. A second, dapagliflozin (Forxiga, Bristol-Myers Squibb/AstraZeneca), was already approved in Europe, in November 2012. But the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) denied approval of dapagliflozin in January 2012 because of concerns about a cancer signal. Other SGLT2 inhibitors are further back in development, including empagliflozin (Boehringer Ingelheim/Lilly), which is in phase 3 trials and has just been filed for approval in the United States, and ipragliflozin (Astellas Pharma) and luseogliflozin (Taisho Pharmaceutical), which are awaiting approval in Japan.

So yeah, Merck and Pfizer still have an opportunity to develop a me-too drug that is best in class with an improved safety profile even though whatever it is there doing didn't even get an honorable mention No wait, I'm confused, I thought Perlmutter tabled such approaches. No wait, my mistake that was what he said at his townhall meeting several months ago. Today is a new day and a new Merck and plans change....and change...and change.

Doesn't anybody due a modicum of homework before posting rubbish on these boards. You don't even need a science degree to understand the knowledge gap in the previous post.
 




Just repeating this message over and over again doesn't make it so. This may be the message Frazier wants to offer in press releases but as an employee in R&D, it is not clear how this actually plays out.

http://wallstcheatsheet.com/stocks/...-and-2-other-dow-movers-to-watch.html/?ref=YF

"These actions will make Merck a more competitive company, better positioned to drive innovation and to more effectively commercialize medicines and vaccines.”

I was hoping that Perlmutter was going to be more forthcoming regarding this idea/decision but alas I think as employees must accept this as a truth and should take comfort in the fact that they know what they are doing.
 




We all need to hope this PD-1 inhibitor is successful because it's probably the only thing that can save Merck. Of course, it has the potential to save lives but I know most of you never think about the critical importance of what this company makes and sells.
 




The problem is that with the PD-1, Merck will be second to market with it, at best. In pharma marketing, all things being equal, that will get a 40% share.

When you add in the historical kiss of death of Merck oncology marketing and sales strategy (see the launches of Emend, Zolinza, Sylatron and the Merck destruction of Intron and Temodar) that 40% will be reduced by half.

Bristols successful experience with marketing and selling oncology products will bury Merck competitively.
 




Anonymous said:
The problem is that with the PD-1, Merck will be second to market with it, at best. In pharma marketing, all things being equal, that will get a 40% share.

When you add in the historical kiss of death of Merck oncology marketing and sales strategy (see the launches of Emend, Zolinza, Sylatron and the Merck destruction of Intron and Temodar) that 40% will be reduced by half.

Bristols successful experience with marketing and selling oncology products will bury Merck competitively.
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So true...BMS Oncology finds Merck Oncology to be entertaining. Like an NFL player returning to their high school to watch a homecoming game. So cute.
 




From an earlier post:

"Doesn't anybody due a modicum of homework before posting rubbish on these boards. You don't even need a science degree to understand the knowledge gap in the previous post."

The answer is, few do.
 




Anonymous said:
As part of Merck's restructuring, the company is creating a new oncology unit to focus on immunotherapy treatments, which stimulates patients' immune systems to fight back against cancer cells. Perlmutter sees tremendous promise in MK-3475, an immunotherapy treatment that could treat metastatic melanoma. During a phase 1 trial, 38% of patients dosed with MK-3475 reported a reduction in their tumor cells. The drug is currently in phase 2 trials, and will eventually be compared to Bristol-Myers Squibb and Roche's respective melanoma treatments, Yervoy and Zelboraf. Merck is also partnered with AstraZeneca to develop a new ovarian cancer drug, MK-1775.

Another product that has growth potential is ertugliflozin, a SGLT2 inhibitor that Merck is developing with Pfizer. SGLT2 inhibitors are a new class of orally administered drugs that help diabetes patients excrete more glucose through the urine, possibly reducing the amount of necessary insulin injections per day. Ertugliflozin is intended to compete against J&J's Invokana, the only FDA-approved SGLT2 on the market.
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As part of the restructuring plan Merck executives have managed to obfuscate the real situation by sending all their employees into a panic and diverting their attention away from the real restructuring that is going on in front of their very nose.

Merck is purposely heading this company into a collapse that will not be realized until it happens and the perpetrators are long gone (EC & BoD).

In an effort to generate cash Merck is selling assets:

http://www.njbiz.com/article/201308...ers-as-it-mulls-future-of-Kenilworth-property

NJBiz also reports in its subscription paper 10/14/2013 "Cushman & Wakefield to sell Merck's Readington campus"

Merck is readying to sell the Summit site. Some report that Celgene is the prospective buyer.

Oh by the way, if you haven't heard Merck is laying off lots of employees to save an additional $2.5 billion by the end of 2015.

http://www.njbiz.com/article/201310...t-Summit-as-previously-announced&template=art

Merck is also incurring significantly more debt:

http://www.njbiz.com/article/20130516/NJBIZ01/130519874/Merck-prices-$65-billion-debt-offering&template=art
"May 16, 2013 Merck & Co., in the Whitehouse Station section of Readington, priced on Wednesday a $6.5 billion public offering of senior unsecured notes."

While at the same time repurchasing more stock:

http://www.njbiz.com/article/20130501/NJBIZ01/130509974/Merck-announces-plan-for-$15-billion-stock-buyback&template=art

"May 1, 2013 Merck & Co. announced a $15 billion stock buyback today, half of which the Hunterdon County pharmaceutical giant expects to purchase over the next 12 months."

http://www.njbiz.com/article/20130522/NJBIZ01/130529947/Merck-announces-$5-billion-accelerated-share-repurchase&template=art

"May 23, 2013 Merck & Co., in the Whitehouse Station section of Readington, announced Tuesday it has entered into an accelerated share repurchase agreement with Goldman, Sachs & Co. to repurchase $5 billion of Merck's common stock."

For me as a major investor I am quite happy. Lots of cash, excellent dividend, debt shifted out another 20 years, stock price increasing because their are fewer shares being traded. In a few years, when I don't like where the company is because the pipeline is not full and the prospects are limited as to how revenue will be realized, I sell my stock. At that point there are other opportunities that offer a better return.

For me as an employee (still there of course), am I happy? Although I continue to receive a paycheck, I question the meaning of my job because I no longer understand the value of what I do, the company still treats me poorly as benefits, perks, pensions a systematically degrade with each new rewrite of the company policies. I still can look forward to my earned pension. But, unfortunately, the company goes bankrupt or is pieced out to other companies and Merck's ability to fulfill its pension obligations is not what it once was. The value has already been given away to those current shareholders today.

So I suggest that one look behind the curtain and really look at the restructuring plan because not is all at it seems. Transparency is a bitch, which is why it is not practiced at Merck.
 




Anonymous said:
Nice try. MK-3475 will eventually be compared to Bristol's BMS-936558 an immunotherapy treatment that could treat metastatic melanoma using the same mechanism. It too is in Phase II trials. In fact BMS has 23 trials registered with the antibody to PD-1 (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?term=BMS-936558&pg=1) to Merck's 7 (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?term=MK-3475&Search=Search). The big difference is that BMS already has Yervoy for CTLA-4 on the market. If we have learned anything about Pharma and oncology is that combo is the inevitable path forward. Guess who is ahead and who is the me-too.

Analyst are looking at BMS not Merck on this one. Frazier's best hope..second in the race (aka the first loser)

Nivolumab: Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) has been taking a go-big-or-go-home approach with this drug, conducting some 25 clinical trials in various types of cancers.

Most of those trials won't be complete for a while yet, but Wall Street is holding out hope that its so-far excellent data on squamous non-small-cell lung cancer — one of the deadliest and most stubborn forms of the disease — will support an FDA filing in early 2014, followed by approval late in the year.

The FDA has granted fast-track designation for that label, as well as for advanced melanoma and kidney carcinoma. Current consensus is modeling $57 million in sales next year, ballooning to $4.7 billion by 2020. Since nivolumab will likely be combined with another Bristol drug, Yervoy, joint sales could bring the company $6.9 billion a year, according to Schoenebaum's survey.

http://news.investors.com/120513-68...lockbusters.htm?ven=yahoocp,yahoo&src=aurlled
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