Merck & Co.’s blockbuster vaccine Gardasil has had a roller-coaster ride in China. A post-Covid surge in demand for the cancer-preventing shot quickly deflated last year, to the point the US pharmaceutical giant made the call earlier this week to halt shipments.

Merck & Co. (MRK) stock lost over 9% yesterday on announcing a temporary shipment halt of its Gardasil vaccine to China. The pharmaceutical

Shares of Merck are sliding in early trading after the drugmaker surprised Wall Street with a lower-than-expected 2025 sales forecast due partly to a pause in shipments of one of its top-selling products to China.