Company Of The Day: Merck

KIEV, UKRAINE – 2018/11/21: In this photo illustration, the Merck & Co. Pharmaceutical company logo … [+] seen displayed on a smartphone. Merck & Company, Inc., d.b.a. Merck Sharp & Dohme outside the United States and Canada, is an American pharmaceutical company and one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. (Photo Illustration by Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
LightRocket via Getty Images

What?

The U.S. FDA approved a new version of Merck’s (NYSE:MRK) pneumococcal vaccine that prevents invasive disease caused by 15 strains of bacteria called Streptococcus pneumoniae.

So What?

Pneumococcal vaccines are lucrative and were the single largest vaccine market by revenue prior to Covid-19. Pfizer’s blockbuster Prevnar 13, which generates over $5.8 billion in annual sales is the market leader in the space.

While Merck’s new shot protects against a few more strains compared to Prevnar 13, the successor to Prevnar, which was approved in June, covers a total of 20 strains. That said, Merck notes that its shot provides a stronger immune response against a strain called serotype 3, which is the leading cause of invasive pneumococcal diseases in adults in the United States.

See Our Complete Analysis For Merck

Merck
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