Merck's drug improves exercise capacity in pulmonary hypertension patients

Merck & Co Inc said in a late-stage study that its experimental therapy helped improve exercise capacity in patients with a deadly disease that causes high pressure in blood vessels of the heart and lungs, lifting its shares by about 4%. Sotatercept, when combined with background therapy, increased walking distance by 40.8 metres in six minutes in individuals with pulmonary arterial hypertension.

The drug, which Merck obtained through its $11.5 billion acquisition of Acceleron Pharma in 2021, also demonstrated substantial improvement in eight of the nine secondary goals, including an 84 percent reduction in the chance of death or clinical worsening of condition when compared to placebo. According to J.P. Morgan analyst Chris Schott, the results "should confirm the drug as go-to add-on therapy" for pulmonary arterial hypertension. Schott predicted that the drug's peak revenues would be between $3 billion and $4 billion. Merck announced in October that sotatercept had met the primary goal of a late-stage study, but did not disclose the full results.

Merck has been expanding its cardiovascular drug portfolio as part of its plan to counteract a potential decline in sales of its best-selling drug Keytruda from biosimilar drugs in the coming years. Another experimental heart drug, MK-0616, helped reduce levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol by between 41.2 per cent at a low 6 mg dose and 60.9 per cent at a higher 30 mg dose in a mid-stage study, Merck said on Monday. Analysts have said MK-0616 would need to show a more than 50 per cent reduction in LDL level, similar to drugs from rivals Regeneron and Sanofi SA and Amgen. The data were presented at the American College of Cardiology's annual meeting in New Orleans.