*

Gardasil pause to China began this month

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Sales of Keytruda were over $7.8 billion in Q4, compared

with

analyst forecast of $7.4 billion

*

Gardasil sales were $1.55 billion, compared with analyst

forecast of $1.8 billion

By Michael Erman

Feb 4 (Reuters) - Merck ( MRK ) said it will pause

shipments of Gardasil to China through at least mid-year, as

continued weak demand for the HPV vaccine there is expected to

hurt 2025 revenue, but it still posted a strong fourth-quarter

profit on sales of cancer drug Keytruda.

The company said it expects 2025 revenue in the range of

$64.1 billion to $65.6 billion. Analysts, on average, had

forecast revenue of $67.3 billion for the year, according to

LSEG data.

It expects 2025 earnings per share in the range of $8.88 to

$9.03 a share compared with an average analyst estimate of $9.03

a share.

Gardasil, which prevents cancers caused by the human

papillomavirus, has been one of Merck's ( MRK ) top growth drivers aside

from Keytruda, and much of its international growth had come

from China before sales of the shot slowed significantly there

beginning in the second quarter of 2024.

Merck ( MRK ) said the pause in Gardasil shipments to China began

this month. The company has blamed economic issues in the

country for pushing down demand as well as China's anti-bribery

and anti-corruption drive that has also hurt sales. Beijing has

been running a campaign targeting bribery of doctors that has

disrupted business and scuttled hospital deals with

international pharmaceutical companies.

Merck ( MRK ) shares closed at $99.97 on Monday, more than 20% below

the levels they were trading at in July.

Its fourth quarter Gardasil sales were $1.55 billion, below

Wall Street's forecast of around $1.8 billion, which has been

pared back nearly 20% since the issues in China were disclosed

last summer.

Still, sales of Keytruda - the world's top-selling

prescription medicine - more than offset that shortfall. The

company sold over $7.8 billion worth of the drug in the quarter,

compared with analyst forecasts of around $7.4 billion.

The drugmaker said it earned $4.37 billion, or $1.72 a

share, in the quarter, excluding one-time items, compared with

$66 million, or 3 cents a share, last year. Analysts had

expected the company to earn $1.62 a share in the quarter.

Total revenue in the quarter was $15.6 billion, up from

$14.6 billion a year earlier. That compares with analyst

expectations of $15.5 billion.

(Reporting by Michael Erman; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)