Is More Patent Pain Headed Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK)’s Way?

Offsetting the patent cliff
Merck’s pipeline offers up several drugs that should help ease the pain. Osteoperosis drug odanacatib has looked extremely promising in clinical trials. While Merck delayed its regulatory filing for odanacatib until next year, the drug’s still poised to take advantage of Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE:LLY)‘s patent loss of its blockbuster bone drug Evista next year. Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE:LLY) will shore up Evista’s loss with fellow osteoporosis drug Forteo, but the expiration still opens the door for odanacatib’s arrival.

Still, Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)’s most promising pipeline candidate will face tough competition from Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)‘s osteoporosis drug Prolia. Prolia’s gotten off to a slow start since its regulatory approval a few years back, but it and fellow Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) bone drug Xgeva could eclipse the $1 billion annual sales mark in the future. Considering that the rest of Merck’s pipeline is average at best, the company will need every dollar of odanacatib to offset losses from Zetia, Vytorin, and other lead drugs set to lose patent protection before 2020.

Ultimately, Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) needs diabetes blockbusters Januvia and Janumet, which reaped more than $5 billion in revenue last year, to perform much better. The two drugs saw only slight growth in the disappointing second quarter. If Merck wants to bounce back from Singulair’s losses and beat its oncoming patent expirations, Januvia and Janumet must do better.

The article Is More Patent Pain Headed Merck’s Way? originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Dan Carroll.

Fool contributor Dan Carroll has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

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