Merck & Co.: updated analysis of patenting with comparative data for thirty-five companies

Abstract

On average, six new inventions from Merck appear each week, and almost all relate to pharmaceuticals. Project structures, judged on the basis of this pattern, are clear but dynamic. The Company’s Canadian and UK sites continue to specialise in anti-inflammatories and neurologicals, respectively, and the latter has seen particular growth over the past two years. Farnesyl protein transferase inhibitors are now a major target in the search for anticancer products, previously a field receiving low priority. Genitourinary indications remain important, but resources appear to have been withdrawn from areas such as anti-infectives and respiratory. This article provides an updated evaluation of the data from the previous Merck patent profile [9]. As an appendix to this article, comparative data for 35 companies (including Merck & Co.) are illustrated. Readers will find background information to support these illustrations in the profiles published in this journal between February 1994 and November 1996.