Pharmaceutical heavyweight Pfizer (PFE 1.53%) kicked off the second half of 2013 by slimming down and spinning off its animal-health business, Zoetis (ZTS 0.91%). The company also announced last quarter that it will be dividing its existing businesses into new divisions, and many analysts believe this is a precursor to future spinoffs.

And Pfizer isn't alone: Abbott recently spun-off its pharmaceutical division into the stand-alone company AbbVie.

But despite a flurry of changes across the pharmaceutical industry, Merck (MRK 1.76%) has been reluctant to change its business model. In the following video, analysts David Williamson and Max Macaluso discuss whether Merck should join its peers and focus just on pharmaceuticals.