Pharmaceutical giant Merck announced that it is lowering its guidance for this year’s earnings and withdrawing a target for sales of its HPV vaccine, Gardasil. The company cited disappointing sales in China, where its partner Chongqing Zhifei Biological Products has stockpiled more Gardasil than it can sell. As a result, Merck will stop shipping the vaccine to Zhifei until mid-year. This news led to a 10% haircut for Merck shares, with investors also questioning the company’s guidance on the decline of its top-selling drug, Keytruda, in the coming years.
Source: https://www.statnews.com/2025/02/04/merck-gardasil-keytruda-cancer-drug-china