Merck's blood vessel disease drug passes final stage of testing

Merck & Co's $11.5 billion acquisition of pharmaceutical company Acceleron Pharma last year enabled Merck & Co to take advantage of therapy that achieved a major late-stage study goal in patients with advanced blood vessel disorder, Merck said on Monday.

Truist Securities analyst Robin Karnauskas said that in addition to the fact that the data obtained during testing confirm the correctness of the Acceleron deal, trial data also support Merck's promising cardiovascular drug line.

By 2030, Merck's cardiovascular product line is expected to consist of 8 approved drugs and reach a peak in sales of $10 billion, the company said.