But Merck spokesman said Gary Bruell said Recombivax costs between $128 and $148, "and thus our price is comparable."
"Merck's product growth was weighted on higher-margin, newer products" that are likely to show continued growth, said Ronald M. Nordmann, an analyst at PaineWebber Inc.
Biocraft said it "is still confident in its position on the invalidity of Merck's patent."
Even so, officials at Merck were reluctant to talk about the drugs or their prospects.
The group's pacesetter was Merck, which benefited from strong sales of Vasotec, used to control hypertension.
In October, Merck acquired the rights to co-develop the drug, and soon afterward proposed the broader agreement.
For Merck, Mevacor is the culmination of almost 10 years of research begun with the discovery of a tiny molecule in a bit of fungus back when the importance of fighting cholesterol was still unproved.
In late afternoon trading yesterday on the New York Stock Exchange, Merck's stock was quoted at $130.25, up $1.375.
But the only one that gained $3 or more was Merck, which rose $5.125 to $196.75.
Merck led a big retreat in pharmaceuticals, losing 8 1/2 to 145 1/2.
Actually, Merck said it is testing two separate, but closely related, compounds, hoping that one of them works.
Merck & Co., the nation's leading drug company, and E.I Du Pont de Nemours and Co. are joining forces to develop a new class of heart disease medicine under a research and marketing pact, the companies said today.
'Where's the television factory?' asks Johnson. 'You're looking at it.' 'But the sign says Merck and Co, Inc, a pharmaceutical company.
MedImmune's gain came on its disclosure that it agreed with Merck to develop MedImmune's monoclonal antibodies in preventing the disease.
Mr Eckhard Frahm, of Merck Finck in Dusseldorf, said that the rally was broadening its base again.
According to Scrip, Glaxo's turnover was Dollars 7.247bn last year compared with Merck's Dollars 7.225bn, giving the British group a margin of victory of Dollars 22m. Officially, Merck says size doesn't matter.
According to Scrip, Glaxo's turnover was Dollars 7.247bn last year compared with Merck's Dollars 7.225bn, giving the British group a margin of victory of Dollars 22m. Officially, Merck says size doesn't matter.
In retailing, meanwhile, Douglas extended Thursday's gains on 1992 sales figures which led Merck Finck, in Dusseldorf, to estimate unchanged earnings of DM32 a share for 1992 and issue a buy recommendation.
The Boehringer and Merck drugs, however, both work against the reverse transcriptase enzyme in a manner that differs significantly from AZT, the only drug now approved for use against the virus.
Lately, though, Merck surprised some investors with a $1 billion buy-back and dividend increase.
Merck said the average retail cost of 5 milligrams a day of Vasotec is $1.34, or about $488 a year.
As part of the sale, ICI said Wednesday it also acquired the U.S. rights to Merck Sharp and Dohme Inc.'s anti-depressant drug Elavil.
Results were a bit better than some analysts' estimates, and Merck shares rose 62.5 cents to close at $74.375 in composite trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
The move drew praise from international health officials for Merck's unprecedented "generous gesture."
She estimates that Merck's profit will grow in the next five years at an annual rate of about 17%, a full 11 percentage points below the average rate prevailing in the past five years.
Bristol-Myers and Squibb agreed to merge in a stock swap valued at $11.52 billion, creating what may be the world's second-biggest drug manufacturer, after Merck.
It is now America's second biggest drug company after Merck, with sales of Pounds 2bn.
Merck said spending for research and development increased about 14% to $854 million in 1990.
Merck, the largest, gained Dollars 1 5/8 to Dollars 33 1/8 , while the share prices of Pfizer and Schering-Plough each rose by more than 3 per cent.
That explains why even mighty Merck, the biggest medicine maker, also has collaboration fever.