Merck profit jumps on strong vaccine, cancer drug sales

[October 28, 2021]  (Reuters) - U.S. drugmaker Merck & Co Inc reported a 55% rise in third-quarter profit on Thursday, helped by strong sales of blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda and recovery in demand for its non-COVID-19 vaccines, as well as lower expenses.

Sales of non-COVID-19 vaccines and physician-administered drugs have started to improve as hospitals and clinics adapt to the pandemic, helping Merck that gets two-thirds of its revenue from drugs that need to be administered at the doctor's office

Net income attributable to Merck rose to $4.57 billion, or $1.81 per share in the quarter, from $2.94 billion, or $1.16 per share a year ago.

Sales of Gardasil, a vaccine to prevent cervical cancer due to human papillomavirus, rose nearly 68% to $1.99 billion, beating analysts' average estimate of $1.35 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

(Reporting by Manas Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)

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