Merck Pipeline Success Fuels 89% Stock Price Surge

Merck's stock price surged by 89% in 2025, outperforming the S&P 500 and other pharmaceutical companies. In February of that year, management highlighted its pipeline of 20 potential new growth drivers with blockbuster potential, which they valued at over $50 billion.

The company had three late-stage readouts for enlicitide, an oral cholesterol drug, scheduled for 2025. However, the reported sales numbers for the second quarter of that year fell 2% to $15.8 billion, largely due to a decline in GARDASIL sales in China.

The CEO said investors were underappreciating the pipeline, citing WINREVAIR as an example, which had cumulative sales exceeding $1 billion within 15 months of launch. The first positive result for enlicitide came on September 2, 2025, when it met all primary and key secondary goals in a pivotal cholesterol study called CORALreef Lipids.

The FDA approved LIPFENDRA, the pill tested in CORALreef Lipids, by August 4, 2026. The CEO also mentioned two cancer drugs with positive readouts that Merck had not expected until 2027.