MERCK & CO is pursuing R&D collaborations in Ireland that can lead to innovative medicines.

Merck & Co yesterday said its quarterly profit fell 28% due to last month’s recall of its Vioxx arthritis drug, and the company predicted 2004 earnings will fall as much as 11% because of the recall.

Pfizer, Merck & Co and other drugmakers raised prices by an average 6.9% for the 200 most commonly prescribed brand-name medicines last year, more than three times the rate of inflation, according to a report.

Merck & Co, the maker of the Zocor cholesterol medicine, said first-quarter profit rose 4.8% as the company cut costs.

OSTEOPOROSIS treatment Fosamax, produced in Tipperary, pushed first-quarter profits at Merck & Co ahead by 5%.