Morgan Stanley Reports on Merck

Morgan Stanley commented on Merck MRK in a report released yesterday. In the report, Morgan Stanley was neutral in its assessment of the company. Morgan Stanley writes, "AIM-HIGH trial's surprising failure raises risk that Cordaptive's HPS2-THRIVE trial may fail. Both the AIM-HIGH and HPS2-THRIVE trials are comparing extended release niacin vs. placebo on top of Zocor (with Zetia as needed). Both trials enrolled patients with history of heart attack, stroke, or peripheral artery disease. But THRIVE can still succeed because there could be significant differences between the two trials. AIM-HIGH enrolled 3,414 patients and looked for 25% benefit, while THRIVE is studying 25,000 patients and is looking for 15% benefit. AIM-HIGH targeted LDL between 40–80 mg/dL using Zocor 20–80 mg +/- Zetia 10 mg +/- niacin, while THRIVE targeted LDL < 100 mg/dL using only Zocor 40 mg +/- Zetia 10 mg before niacin is added, which implies that final LDL achieved in AIM-HIGH may be lower than in THRIVE." Morgan Stanley currently has an Equal-weight rating on Merck. Shares of Merck closed at $36.38, up from $36.56 at the opening bell.