Friday, January 14, 2011

Merck (NYSE:MRK) Shares Fall on Vorapaxar Discontinuation

The shares of Merck (NYSE:MRK) fell as expected today on news the ACS TRACER study using vorapaxar was discontinued.

Specifically the discontinuation involved patients who have had a stroke who were testing the drug for prevention the TRA-2P study.

Patients with peripheral arterial disease or MI will continue on with the study, which accounts for approximately 75 percent of patients.

Although the reason for the removal of vorapaxar hasn't been revealed yet, assumptions are it was causing bleeding in the patients.

Jefferies said they don't think vorapaxar will now be released, and lowered their full year 2012 EPS estimate from $4.43 to $4.34.

Jefferies reiterates their "Hold" rating on Merck, which was trading at $34.31, down $0.38, or 1.10 percent. They also lowered their price target on Merck from $37 to $34.50.

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