Merck on Thursday reported lower than expected quarterly revenue, hurt by disappointing sales of its Januvia diabetes treatment and Remicade arthritis drug.

But the second-largest US drugmaker beat first-quarter earnings forecasts because of cost controls and a weakening dollar, and it slightly raised its full-year profit outlook.

Combined sales of Januvia and a related combination medicine called Janumet edged up 1 per cent to $1.41 billion, $30 million shy of Wall Street expectations. Demand for the drugs, Merck’s biggest franchise and former sparkplugs for company growth, has waned due to new competition, including from Eli Lilly & Co’s Jardiance and other members of a family of medicines called SGLT-2 inhibitors.

Remicade sales fell 30 per cent to $349 million, $25 million below forecasts. The injectable treatment for rheumatoid arthritis faces escalating competition in Europe from cheaper biosimilars.

A bright spot in the earnings report was Keytruda, a new cancer treatment that works by taking the brakes off the immune system. Its sales rose to $249 million from $83 million a year earlier, slightly above expectations.

For Merck, “pressure on important marketed products such as Januvia and Remicade will likely limit near-term growth opportunities” and offset faster-growing products like Keytruda, Credit Suisse analyst Vamil Divan said in a research note.

Sales of animal health products were flat at $829 million about $20 million below Wall Street forecasts, but would have risen 9 per cent if not for the weakening dollar, which reduces sales outside the United States, Merck said.

Total revenue slipped 1 per cent to $9.31 billion, below the average estimate of $9.46 billion among analysts. Net income rose to $1.12 billion. – (Reuters)