Merck & Company: Evaluating a Drug Licensing Opportunity Case Summary Merck & Company (Merck) a large pharmaceutical company was approached by LAB Pharmaceuticals in 2000 for the purchase option to license and provide funding for a newly developed drug compound called Davanrik. If Merck, the licensee purchased the compound it would be responsible for the design, administration, and funding of the clinical testing of the compound, as well as take care of its manufacturing and marketing
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RUBACK Merck & Company: Evaluating a Drug Licensing Opportunity Rich Kender, Vice President of Financial Evaluation & Analysis at Merck, was working with his team to decide whether his company should license Davanrik, a new drug with the potential to treat both depression and obesity. The small pharmaceutical concern that developed the drug, LAB Pharmaceuticals, lacked the resources to complete the lengthy approval process, manufacture the compound, and market the drug. LAB had approached Merck with
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of the Problem LAB Pharmaceuticals does not have enough capital to finance the testing of Davanrik, an antidepressant drugs that has potential side effects relating to obesity. LAB approaches Merck & Co., Inc. (Merck) and asks the company to license Davanrik, as well as funding the clinical testing. Merck must decide whether or not to bid to license Davanrik and if so, at what price. Discussion Merck is facing patent expiration problem because most of its popular drugs are going to expire by
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Royalty Fee. In Phase 1, Merck has to pay LAB 5 million initial investment no matter whether Davanrik will get approved by FDA in future. In Phase 2, Merck has to pay LAB 2.5 million Milestone payment if Davanrik successfully complete Phase 1 with a probability of 60%. In Phase 3, the amount of milestone payment Merck has to pay depends on the result of Phase 2. If Davanrik successfully complete phase 2 and was effective only for depression with the probability of 10%, then Merck has to pay 20 million
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3. Should Merck bid to license Davanrik? How much should they pay? Our team will recommend Merck bid to license Davanrik given the following reasons: 1. One of the major advantage of the company is its patents of new drugs. According to the case, we know that four drugs will expire by 2002 and those drugs are regarded as the so-called star-products of the company. According to the company’s financial statement, we learn that Merck’s net income margin has declined from 19.52% to 18% and the research
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3, 2015 Mr. Kender, Merck and Company has been presented with a very interesting opportunity from LAB Pharmaceuticals. After having analyzed the current opportunity that Merck and Company is being presented with we have come up with the following recommendations on how best for you and your company to proceed with this proposal to purchase LAB Pharmaceuticals new drug, Davanrik. We feel that purchasing the rights to Davanrik is a great opportunity for Merck and Company to expand its product
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How has Merck been able to achieve substantial returns to capital given the large costs and lengthy time to develop drugs? Merck had a 14% increase in sales between 1997 and 1998 and 22% increase in sales from 1998 – 1999, and a 13% annual increase in earnings over the same period. Merck’s business strategy consists of two parts: (1) developing and marketing new drugs through internal research, and (2) developing partnerships with smaller biotechnology companies. Since 1995, Merck had launched
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INTRODUCTION Merck & Company : Evaluating the Licensing Opportunity Various recently-born biotech companies sell their technologies in either finished or early stage to bigger companies in need of financing capital to preceed business, while those bigger companies acquire technologies to scout for promising profitable business. This sort of process needs numbers of decision makings and agreements from both parties on the valuation methods is crucial here. The valuation method being used has
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Should Rich Kender recommend licensing Davanrik, making Merck & Company responsible for its manufacture and its marketing? In order to provide Rich Kender with a good and thorough analysis and recommendation on the Davanrik licensing project, we need to answer the following guidance questions: I. How has Merck been able to achieve substantial returns to capital given the large costs and lengthy time to develop drugs? II. How much should they pay? III. What is the expected value of the
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Business description In 2000 Merck is a successful pharmaceutical company with a handful of drugs developed internally as well as in joint-ventures. Its success however linked to the exclusivity rights of its patents, which makes its investors concerned about the close expiration (2002) of several patents of its blockbusters, which would dry out future revenues. The long-term viability of the company depends thus on the ability to refresh its portfolio of patent-protected drugs in order to counterbalance
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