Keytruda: the medicine that bills as much as Zara and generates debate about the duration of patents

The recent publication of the results of 2024 by the multinational Merck, which operates as Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) outside the United States, has revealed an unusual fact in the history of the pharmaceutical industry. Sales of the medicine Keytruda, a monoclonal antibody indicated against various types of cancer, reached $29.5 billion (27.3 billion euros) after growing by 18% last year. Never before had a drug reached similar levels, which pu…