Poor Merck. Their third-quarter figures reveal all. Global sales of their biggest product, Zocor (simvastatin), slumped 14 percent to $1.05 billion.
The drug's U.S. revenue fell 10 percent amid competition with the more-potent new combo drug Vytorin sold by both Merck and Schering-Plough Corp.
However, Zocor lost almost a quarter of its sales overseas, where it is facing cheaper generics.
Add the Vioxx litigation problems to the mix and you see Mother Mercks' problem. However, this time, whilst sales were down they still managed to raise profits, via cutbacks.
But, Insider notes, this is often a "deminishing return" option; there is only so much fat available for trimming!
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