Republished from Sept. 16
You know something is strange when an analyst describes a venerable company like Merck(MRK Quote) as a turnaround story -- for 2007.
Despite a top-notch credit rating and strong reputation, Merck's stock is stuck in a rut. It is reeling from the recent failure of several experimental drugs. And it is starting to feel the impact of patent expirations on important existing products.
Clearly, this can't be what Raymond V. Gilmartin, Merck's chairman and CEO, was looking forward to approaching the company-mandated retirement age of 65 in March 2006. But disappointing test results, bad timing, and what some analysts say was a slow response to the changing marketplace have put Merck -- and Gilmartin's successor -- in an uncomfortable position among its peers and investors. ...
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