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Article: Merck, now No. 2 drugmaker, set for future buys
- Article from:
- AP Worldstream
- Article date:
- November 4, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. (Hide copyright information)
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The new Merck & Co. has become the world's second-biggest drugmaker overnight, with a fat wallet to fund future deals.
That's after the maker of vaccines and cholesterol and diabetes drugs on Tuesday closed its acquisition of New Jersey neighbor Schering-Plough Corp. for $41.1 billion.
With the deal, Merck leapfrogged from No. 8 to No. 2 in the industry by revenue _ behind Pfizer Inc. That puts Merck, of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, and New York's Pfizer back in the positions they held a decade ago.
In morning trading, Merck shares rose 81 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $31.48.
Merck was the world's top-selling drugmaker in the mid-1990s, but Pfizer took the lead ...