Merck (NYSE: MRK) and
Schering-Plough (NYSE: SGP) reported earnings
as separate companies for likely the last time yesterday, but
that doesn't mean investors and Foolish analysts need to
treat them separately. Here's what the companies might have
looked like if they were already combined.
Combined sales would have been essentially flat, excluding
the joint ventures Merck has with
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ),
sanofi-aventis (NYSE: SNY), and
AstraZeneca , but including sales of its
joint venture with Schering-Plough. Technically, sales were
down 0.4%, but we're getting close to rounding error at that
level.
The way you get to the flat sales isn't pretty, though.
Look at the top 10 franchises:
Drug
Sales (in millions)
Year-over-year increase (decrease)
Singulair
$1,085
5%
Zetia and Vytorin
$1,028
(7%)
Cozaar and Hyzaar
$861
(3%)
Januvia and Janumet
$664
39%
Remicade
$608
8%
Gardasil
$311*
(22%)
Nasonex
$266 Continued... |