Merck’s Keytruda has a new line on its long list of accomplishments: topping $7 billion in quarterly sales for the first time.
On Tuesday, the New Jersey drugmaker said the cancer drug’s quarterly sales increased 16% from the previous year to $7.3 billion. Keytruda’s continued success led to Merck’s 7% increase in global sales in the quarter, totaling $16.1 billion. Fellow cancer drug Welireg also stood out after expanding its FDA label in December to include renal cell carcinoma. Merck reported $150 million in Welireg revenue in the second quarter.
Merck added $70 million in sales for the recently approved pulmonary arterial hypertension drug Winrevair, and sales data were available for the first time. The company said 40% of the revenue came from the actual administration of the therapy, with the remainder from distributors building up inventory. Winrevair is the byproduct of Merck’s $11.5 billion acquisition of Acceleron.
Full 2024 earnings guidance ticked up slightly, with the bottom end of the range now $63.4 billion compared to $63.1 billion.