Merck Sued by Investor Over Misjudged Gardasil Demand in China

Merck & Co. Inc. misled investors about traction for its HPV vaccine in China, sending the stock down when it revealed oversaturated inventory and that it would fall short of its expected $11 billion worldwide sales target, a proposed class action said.

The global health care giant was issuing positive statements about financial expectations that artificially inflated share prices when it actually didn’t have good insight into demand in China, said Michael Cronin’s complaint. When Merck shared on Feb. 4 it would miss its long-predicted $11 billion in revenue off Gardasil by 2030 and cease sending the vaccine to China ...