By Padmanabhan Ananthan
Feb 23 (Reuters) – Merck said on Monday it would create a separate division for its cancer business, anchored by its top-selling drug Keytruda, as the U.S. drugmaker braces for the upcoming patent expiry of the blockbuster treatment.
The company’s major growth driver Keytruda, approved for several forms of cancers, is the best-selling prescription medicine in the world. The treatment generated more than $30 billion in 2025 and accounted for nearly half of the company’s total revenue. Key patents on Keytruda will begin to expire in 2028.
“Management must believe that having oncology organized as its own unit will help the company drive pipeline successes that can help mitigate Keytruda’s loss of exclusivity,” said James Harlow, senior vice president at investment firm Novare Capital Management, which owns more than 100,000 Merck shares.
The split also gives Merck more optionality to separate or spin off one of these businesses in the future, Harlow said.
As part of the reshuffling, Merck’s human-health business will be split into two — one housing its oncology portfolio and the other will include all of its non-cancer medicines. The split does not involve the company’s animal health division.
Citi analysts said the split would help to more clearly distinguish Merck’s mature oncology portfolio from its newer, acquisition-driven assets, but warned that more work is still needed in commercial execution, business development and pipeline delivery to fully offset upcoming patent pressures.
Merck has been building up its late-stage drug pipeline since 2021 and signed several deals, including buying of Cidara Therapeutics and Verona Pharma for roughly $10 billion each last year, to broaden its portfolio.
The company had spun off its women’s health and biosimilars business in 2021 into a standalone company called Organon.
The latest announcement follows Merck’s downbeat 2026 forecast issued earlier this month, where it warned of lower-than-expected sales and profit as several legacy drugs near loss of exclusivity and face generic pressure.
(Reporting by Padmanabhan Ananthan in Bengaluru; Writing by Mrinalika Roy; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
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