Merck's drug boosts exercise capacity in pulmonary hypertension patients
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[March 07, 2023]
By Khushi Mandowara
(Reuters) -Merck & Co Inc said on Monday its experimental therapy helped
increase exercise capacity in patients with a deadly disease that causes
high pressure in blood vessels of the heart and lungs in a late-stage
study, lifting its shares about 4%.
Sotatercept, combined with a background therapy, helped patients with
pulmonary arterial hypertension to walk about 40.8 meters more in six
minutes.
The drug, which Merck gained through its $11.5 billion buyout of
Acceleron Pharma in 2021, also showed significant improvement in eight
of the nine secondary goals, including reducing the risk of death or
clinical worsening of condition by 84% compared to placebo.
J.P. Morgan analyst Chris Schott said the data exceeded the brokerage's
expectations and "should confirm the drug as go-to add-on therapy" for
pulmonary arterial hypertension.
Schott forecast peak sales of $3 billion to $4 billion for the drug.
In October, Merck said sotatercept had met the main goal of a late-stage
study, but did not release the full data.
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![](../images/030723PIX/health49.jpg)
The Merck logo is seen at a gate to the
Merck & Co campus in Rahway, New Jersey, U.S., July 12, 2018.
REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Mar/07/images/ads/current/llm_lda_ANIMAL_2023.png) Merck has been beefing up its
portfolio of cardiovascular drugs as part of its strategy to counter
a possible hit to sales to its best-selling drug Keytruda from
biosimilar drugs in the next few years.
Another experimental heart drug, MK-0616, helped reduce levels of
low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol by between 41.2% at a low
6 mg dose and 60.9% at a higher 30 mg dose in a mid-stage study,
Merck said on Monday.
Analysts have said MK-0616 would need to show a more than 50%
reduction in LDL level, similar to drugs from rivals Regeneron and
Sanofi SA and Amgen.
The data were presented at the American College of Cardiology's
annual meeting in New Orleans.
(Reporting by Khushi Mandowara and Pratik Jain in Bengaluru; Editing
by Arun Koyyur and Shinjini Ganguli)
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