April 25 (Reuters) - Merck & Co ( MRK ) on Thursday

raised its annual profit and revenue forecast on the back of

strong sales for its blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda.

The New Jersey-based drugmaker said it expected earnings of

$8.53 and $8.65 per share, up from its previous forecast of

$8.44 to $8.59, and sales of $63.1-$64.3 billion for the year.

Merck's ( MRK ) new forecast includes a $0.26 per share charge for

its $680 million acquisition of cancer drug developer Harpoon

Therapeutics, which closed in the first quarter of 2024, the

company said.

Shares of the company rose 1.6% in premarket trading

The drugmaker in February forecast 2024 sales between $62.7

billion and $64.2 billion. Analysts, on average, estimate annual

earnings per share of $8.56 and sales of $63.83 billion,

according to LSEG data.

Merck ( MRK ) reported first-quarter profit of $2.07 per share on an

adjusted basis, compared with analysts estimates of $1.88 per

share, according to LSEG data. Sales came in at $15.8 billion,

rising 9% and beating average analyst predictions of $15.2

billion for the quarter.

Sales of Keytruda stood at $6.95 billion for the quarter,

jumping 20% from the previous year and surpassing analysts'

average estimate of $6.66 billion.

Keytruda, the world's top selling drug in 2023, has been

Merck's ( MRK ) key revenue driver over the last few years and is

expected to top $30 billion in sales by 2026 before losing

exclusivity towards the end of the decade.

Gardasil, Merck's ( MRK ) vaccine that prevents cancers caused by

human papillomavirus (HPV), brought in first quarter sales of

$2.25 billion, up 14% and largely in-line with analysts' average

estimate of $2.27 billion.

Merck ( MRK ) said Gardasil growth was driven by strong demand in

China, where it is seeking approval for use of the vaccine in

men.

Sales of Vaxneuvance, a shot that helps protect against

infection caused by pneumococcus bacteria, rose 106% to $219

million for the first quarter.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration last month approved

Merck's ( MRK ) potential blockbuster treatment for adults with high

blood pressure, and the company said doctors had started writing

prescription for the drug.

The therapy, branded Winrevair, is approved for treating

pulmonary arterial hypertension, which affects around 40,000

people in the United States.

Merck ( MRK ) said in February it expects $20 billion from new

oncology products in development by the mid-2030s, nearly double

its prior oncology pipeline forecast for over $10 billion.

The drugmaker also said it has launched a restructuring

program to optimize its manufacturing operations related to

human and animal health, and expects to complete the program by

the end of 2031.