Merck (MRK) Stock Down, Ebola Vaccine Under 'Accelerated' FDA Review

Merck (MRK) announced that its experimental Ebola vaccine V920 has been put under 'accelerated' review in the U.S. and the EU.
By Rachel Aldrich ,

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Merck (MRK) - Get Report  are sliding 1.07% to $58.19 this morning despite the company's announcement that its experimental Ebola vaccine V920 has received accelerated review status in the U.S. and the EU, according to a company statement.

The FDA has tagged the drug as a Breakthrough Therapy, which requires more intensive guidance from the FDA review team, senior personnel involvement and a rolling review of the New Drug Application.

The designation will expedite the development and review of V920 following preliminary clinical evidence that it may offer substantial improvement over existing therapies.

The E.U.'s European Medicines Agency has given V920 a PRIME status. This gives the drug early support from the group and an accelerated review.

Merck, a Kenilworth, NJ-based global healthcare company, licensed V920 from NewLink Genetics (NLNK) in late 2014.

Separately, TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this articles's author.

TheStreet Ratings rated this stock as a "buy" with a ratings score of B.

The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its increase in net income, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, reasonable valuation levels, expanding profit margins and increase in stock price during the past year. TheStreet Ratings feels its strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had somewhat disappointing return on equity.

You can view the full analysis from the report here: MRK

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