Is Merck's Decision to Slim Down a Buying Opportunity?
On Wednesday, the multinational pharmaceutical giant Merck (NYSE: MRK) revealed plans to carve out its women's health, legacy brands, and biosimilars units into a stand-alone business. This strategic spinoff will reportedly transform the biopharma into a growth-oriented business focused on branded cancer medicines, vaccines, hospital products, and animal health. The split is planned to take effect in the first half of 2021.
Merck's decision to slim down follows similar moves by peers AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN), Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY), GlaxoSmithKline, and Pfizer (NYSE: PFE). All of these top pharmas have jettisoned one or more of their business segments in the past year in an effort to spotlight their newer growth products. For Merck in particular, this carve-out will place an even greater focus on its top-selling cancer immunotherapy medicine Keytruda.
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Source Fool.com
