Renewed Hope for Alzheimer's Patients - and Investors?

Alzheimer's disease is a devastating illness, and unfortunately a cure has been elusive. A drug being developed by Johnson & Johnson  (NYSE: JNJ  ) , Pfizer  (NYSE: PFE  ) , and Elan  (NYSE: ELN  ) called bapineuzumab was scraped over the summer after failing to satisfy its phase 3 clinical trial endpoints. Eli Lilly's (NYSE: LLY  ) drug, solanezumab, also failed to meet the goals set for its late-stage study. While combining the results from the two solanezumab phase 3 trials did show some positive results and briefly generated investor excitement, there is some skepticism that the drug will gain Food and Drug Administration approval.

Today, it looks like there's a new player in the fight to treat Alzheimer's; powerhouse pharma company Merck (NYSE: MRK  ) announced that it's bringing its experimental drug MK-8931 to phase 2/3 trials. In the following video, health care analysts Max Macaluso and Brenton Flynn break down the details for investors.

For nearly 100 years, Merck's cutting-edge research has led to a number of medical breakthroughs. Today, however, this pharma stalwart is staring down a steep patent cliff and facing generic competition for its top-selling drug. Will Merck crumble under its own weight, or will it continue to pay dividends to investors for another century? To find out if this pharma giant has the stamina to keep its Bunsen burners alight, grab your copy of our brand new premium research report today. Our senior biotech analyst Brian Orelli, Ph.D., walks you through both the opportunities and threats facing Merck, and the report comes with a full 12 months of updates. Claim your copy now by clicking here.