In 5 Years......

Will Merck exist in 5 years? Not looking good from the tone of these posts....wow.

 

merck will be no more than a holding company. It will disintegrate, shed its pension obligations and re-emerge again highly profitable and high growth company.

 

"disintegrate, shed its pension obligations."

Define....???

 

In 5 years, Merck will be an Oncology and perhaps small niche rare disease company. In order to eliminate the liability of retirement pensions, they will transfer assets to a private Insurance company or convert individuals to smaller lump sum buyouts.

Most if not all promotion will be direct to consumer and through Thought Leader Activation at scientific meetings.

The best reps have limited or no access and impact anymore.

 

In 3 years Merck will no longer be part of the DOW 30

 

Truer words never spoken.

 

Yep. Apple just knocked AT&T out of the Dow. In 3 years, a company less than 10 years old like Facebook will knock a 125 year old company off.

Thanks to the wisdom of our Leadership!

 

Someone ask me were I saw myself in five years. I said that I didn't know. I don't have 2020 vision.

 

yes Merck will be here in 5 years doing just fine...$160 BILLION dollar company value, $48 BILLION in Revenue, Profit Margins 28%....(why do you think than can still afford all the fat you see)..google up the basic financials...what major pharma companies would consider a bad financial streak would like like heaven to most other industries..(are profit margins are inline with what Apple is getting sell their stuff!)

Better question is where do you fit in with Merck in 5 years...most field reps career plateau pretty quick..

 

Well, only time will tell. Let's all check back in 2020 and see who was most accurate.

 

Merck will be eaten. Their oncology program is a joke. They are the laughing stock of the pharm industry. The fat cats will see you all down river. Start shorting the stock now!

 

When the last bit of capitalism is finally squeezed out of the healthcare/pharma industry we will get our answer. However, for all you Pollyanna's out there, Keep in mind that big pharma (or pharma in general for that matter) has never been an industry darling with all the "smarter than the rest of us" progressive bureaucrats that are now at the helm, which is doubly distressing enough given the number of times KF or some other pharma nitwit CEO got down on their knees to blow or jerk of these liberal politicians. A happy ending? yes.. for the socialist running the show, but for the rest of us... I think not! Better get use to a president with cankles and pantsuits because the bumpy ride is only beginning!

 

Why do you waste time worrying about Merck? Merck doesn't spend any time thinking about you. You know what happens to Merck if you leave right now? Nothing. Nothing at all.

 

It's a $20 stock at best. They're just about completely out of costs to cut. You can only shutter so many buildings and fire so many people before the revenue collapse catches up to your income statement. When it does, the stock crashes. We're there, people.

 

This is a very interesting thread.

Think about the last 5 years and now try to visualize the next 5. I remember being at a meeting in March of 2010 where the marketing team displayed a slide of the Merck pipeline. So many potential blockbusters. Some of which were eventually approved and have either floundered or abandoned completely. Now think about the next 5 years. What is on the horizon? Research and Development will become Duck and Cover. Guess the Schering-Plough pipeline was not the answer either. Next 5 years? Highly recommend Marketing and Sales get your house in order, the end is in sight.

 

And what is to blame?

 

Most of big pharma is done. Give it another 10 years.

The science talent has been let go and found homes in smaller startups. Watch those companies stick it to big pharma. Many will approach the pharma
Overlords with potential blockbusters that they know are dudes. The real gems will be maintained in house and brought to market by small, nimble companies.

Big pharma tried to stick it to the scientists, I think in the end the scientists will have the last laugh.

 

True!! Its biotech and start ups....money and short term jobs.

Risk but potential for big rewards with blockbusters!

 

You don't get it…Big pharma will never be done…they have the money, muscle and marketing expertise that the small biotech's need, even when they have a novel molecule…Don't you remember why Amgen did their deal with Johnson and Johnson way back at the start of that company?? They needed J&J's marketing expertise, even though they had a great drug in Epogen.

Most of those little biotech's get started with the express end goal of selling out to Big Pharma…

Smaller, more nimble companies as you put it, will almost always get bought out by Big Pharma at some stage of their life, whether is is during early research, clinical trials, or pre-launch.

 

You are right in many ways. In addition, Merck is a company that is living off of a legendary image. Not unlike IBM and Xerox (as opposed to Apple and Google) Point is, other Pharma companies are advancing and Merck is no longer the industry "gold standard" it was in the 60s, 70s and 80s. Merck still has capital but that is about it. Not exactly a marketing machine. Startup companies will be partnering with big pharma companies other than Merck. Next five years will be very revealing.