Royalty Pharma bets Merck's schizophrenia drug can go where Pfizer, Takeda and Lundbeck's couldn’t

Merck, the third-largest pharma R&D spender in 2021, has enlisted outside help in funding its mid-stage schizophrenia program as the Big Pharma looks to follow in the footsteps of Karuna Therapeutics’ late-stage trial success in the CNS disorder and its immediate financing haul.