But if the results for Remicade are strong enough, doctors may use it without final approval.
"Remicade is considered by many physicians to be a nuclear-bomb-type treatment, " says Walsh at Jefferies.
Remicade is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory diseases linked to the immune system.
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The patent expirations made the Schering-Plough deal crucial to Merck and also makes keeping Remicade rights very important.
FORBES: Does Merck Need To Win The Battle With J&J For Remicade?
While its biggest immunology drug Remicade showed moderate growth of 5.2%, the sales for Simponi and Stelara grew substantially.
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Thomas Schaible, vice president of medical affairs at the company's Centocor biotech division, says he's not worried about reproducing Remicade's results.
The looming patent expirations and also the Remicade arbitration have caused Merck to trade at a very low multiple of earnings.
FORBES: Does Merck Need To Win The Battle With J&J For Remicade?
Generic competition to Topamax and Risperdal cut into sales, but strong growth from inflammatory disease treatment Remicade helped moderate the damage.
Remicade acts through a mechanism similar to Enbrel, a drug made by Immunex (nasdaq: IMNX - news - people ).
Remicade, an arthritis treatment, should continue its "explosive" growth, Gruber says.
However by then a new cutting-edge drug called Remicade had appeared.
Worldwide Remicade sales jumped 67% in the first quarter, Weinstein says.
The current study, which included 250 patients, further indicates Remicade's efficacy.
The biggest potential for growth will come from new uses for existing drugs, such as rheumatoid arthritis drug Remicade, which is being tested and used for psoriasis and other disease.
He also hopes to squeeze as much as possible out of existing products such as Remicade for rheumatoid arthritis, which the company sells in Europe, and the hay fever spray, Nasonex.
In March this year, NICE said adalimumab (Humira), etanercept (Enbrel) and infliximab (Remicade) could only be used in the context of research, even for those patients who had failed on one anti-TNF.
Conducting research in the areas of cardiovascular disease, central nervous system disorders, immunology and infectious disease, oncology, respiratory diseases and women's health, its best-selling products are Vytorin, Zetia, Remicade and Nasonex.
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