Merck Shares Rise 5% on FDA Approval for Winrevair

By Denny Jacob

Merck shares gain 5% to $131.90 in afterhours trading following approval of its new drug for a potentially fatal lung disease.

The stock is up 20% over the last 12 months through the close.

The drugmaker's drug, which will sell under the name Winrevair, treats a condition called pulmonary arterial hypertension that affects nearly 40,000 people in the U.S. In 2021, Merck paid $11.5 billion for the company developing the medicine.

The Food and Drug Administration approved Winrevair as an add-on therapy to other drugs for pulmonary arterial hypertension, which is commonly known as PAH.

Write to Denny Jacob at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

03-26-24 1752ET