In re Merck & Co., Inc. Securities Litigation

On December 4, 2025, Labaton Keller Sucharow was appointed Co-Lead Counsel in a securities class action against Merck & Co., Inc. (Merck or the Company), and certain of its executive officers (together, Defendants) alleging violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder.

The case is a federal securities class action on behalf of all investors who purchased or otherwise acquired Merck securities between February 3, 2022, to February 3, 2025, inclusive (the Class Period).  The action alleges that, during the Class Period, Defendants repeatedly assured investors that Merck was on track to achieve $11 billion in sales for Gardasil, its human papillomavirus vaccine, by 2030.  Defendants cited confidence in consumer education, demand generation, and growth—particularly in China.  Defendants are accused of providing these overwhelmingly positive statements to investors while, at the same time, disseminating materially false and misleading statements and/or concealing material adverse facts concerning the true state of Gardasil’s demand in China—notably, that the Company lacked visibility into demand for the product resulting in inflated inventory levels at Merck’s Chinese distributor, Zhifei.  As a result, Defendants allegedly misled investors, causing Merck’s stock to trade at artificially inflated prices.

The truth began to emerge on July 30, 2024, when Merck announced a significant reduction in Gardasil vaccinations in China, resulting in above-normal inventory levels at Zhifei.  As a result, Merck announced that its shipments of Gardasil to China may fall below contracted levels for 2024.  On this news, shares of Merck fell $12.53, or about 10%, to close at $115.25 per share.  On February 4, 2025, Merck announced it withdrew its $11 billion of Gardasil sales by 2030 guidance and would cease shipping Gardasil to China until at least mid-2025.  On this news, shares of Merck fell $9.05, or about 9%, to close at $90.74 per share.

The case is captioned In re Merck & Co, Inc. Securities Litigation, No. 2:25-cv-01208-JXN-AME, in the District of New Jersey.  Labaton Keller Sucharow represents Lead Plaintiff AMF Tjanstepension AB.  An amended complaint will be filed on or before February 20, 2026.