Merck Cuts $3 Billion in Costs as Keytruda Reign Nears End

Merck & Co. is slashing $3 billion from its annual spending as it braces for off-brand competition to its cancer drug Keytruda, the best-selling medicine in the world.

The drugmaker will cut administrative, sales and research jobs, and reduce its real estate holdings, the Rahway, New Jersey-based company said in a statement Tuesday. Merck expects the restructuring to be completed by the end of 2027, the year before Keytruda’s key patents expire and the drug faces US government price cuts.