Drug Firms’ Results Weaken

Three major U.S. drug makers reported weaker results Tuesday as Merck & Co. was hit by costs from its Vioxx withdrawal and Schering-Plough Corp. and Johnson & Johnson took charges to pay taxes on repatriated earnings.

But shares of all three rose as J&J;’s earnings beat Wall Street forecasts and Merck sales edged higher despite the loss of as much as $750 million in potential Vioxx sales for the quarter.

Merck shares rose more than 3% as investors registered relief at a lack of unexpected bad news. Merck pulled Vioxx from the market Sept. 30, sending its stock into a tailspin, after a study found that the drug doubled heart attack and stroke risks in longtime users.

Merck set aside $604 million in the fourth quarter to pay future legal expenses for Vioxx litigation, but it has not yet taken any charges for future payouts to Vioxx users.

J&J;’s global pharmaceutical sales rose 11.4% in the quarter to $5.8 billion, despite a 12% drop in sales of anemia drugs Procrit and Eprex to $850 million due to safety issues and competition.

Merck’s profit fell 21%, but global sales edged up to $5.7 billion from $5.6 billion a year ago, led by $1.3 billion in sales of its cholesterol medicine Zocor.

Schering-Plough said sales rose 12%, but even excluding the large charge the company lost 2 cents a share, missing Wall Street’s break-even projection.

J&J; shares rose $2.23 to $63.72, while Merck shares climbed $1.10 to $30.95. Schering-Plough shares edged up 28 cents to $20.31. All three trade on the New York Stock Exchange.