“The lower list price will reduce the rebate amount Merck pays to Medicaid and as a result, we expect higher net sales for these products in 2025.”

In context

“withdraw this target given the uncertain timing of an economic recovery in China. Our growth expectations outside of China for this important vaccine remain unchanged, and we are well-positioned to protect more lives and drive strong growth beyond 2025. For KEYTRUDA, U.S. sales benefitted from approximately $200 million of wholesaler inventory buy-in during the fourth quarter, which we expect to reverse in the first quarter. We expect Medicare Part D redesign to have a negative impact to sales of approximately $400 million, primarily affecting WINREVAIR and our portfolio of small molecule oncology products, including WELIREG, Lynparza, and Lenvima. At the beginning of 2025, we lowered the list prices of the JANUVIA family of products in the U.S. to more closely align them with net prices. The lower list price will reduce the rebate amount Merck pays to Medicaid and as a result, we expect higher net sales for these products in 2025. Now turning to capital allocation, where our strategy remains unchanged. We will prioritize investments in our business to drive near- and long-term growth. We will continue to make disciplined investments in our key growth drivers and expansive pipeline. We remain committed to our dividend, with the goal of continuing to increase it over time. Business development remains a priority and we are well positioned to pursue additional science-driven, value- enhancing transactions. We recently increased our authorization for share repurchases by $10 billion to $12 billion in total. Given the opportunities to invest in our business and augment our pipeline through business development, we expect to maintain a modest level of share repurchases this year. We remain committed to not having excess”