Drugmaker Merck & Co. will spin off $6.5 billion in assets, including women’s-health products and cholesterol treatments that have lost patent protection, that are equal to 15% of its prescription drug sales. The move to shed the products will allow Merck to focus on faster-growing cancer drugs, vaccines and animal-health items, Merck Chief Executive Ken Frazier said. By getting rid of legacy medicines with sagging sales, the big drugmakers are hoping to see faster sales growth from newer drugs. But the strategy deprives companies of the steady cash flow from older products and requires them to hit on risky experimental therapies. Under its plan, Merck will spin off nearly 90 products into a new company, which will be publicly traded. The products will generate $6.5 billion in sales this year, according to Merck.
Read the full article: Merck to Spin off Slow-Growth Products into New Company //
Source: https://www.wsj.com/articles/merck-to-spin-off-slow-growth-products-into-new-company-11580903102