Merck KGaA Is Latest Drugmaker to Weigh Direct US Patient Sales

Merck KGaA is considering selling medicines directly to patients in the US, joining drugmakers seeking to bypass middlemen following President Donald Trump’s demand for lower drug prices in the country.

“The direct-to-patient sales in the US is an option,” Chief Executive Officer Belen Garijo said on a call with journalists Thursday. “We have not yet started to put that in practice and it will depend on the products we are talking about.”

The German group is following similar moves by pharma companies including Roche Holding AG and AstraZeneca Plc as they look for ways to reduce prices for US patients ...