The German group is investing heavily in R&D and the continued strong performance of products like Spiriva and Pradaxa is helping to pay for future innovation.

Jardiance and Ofev are growing strongly but the German drugmaker is also confident its pipeline will bear fruit, boosted by a rising research budget that represents almost 23% of sales.

Following in the wake of Merck & Co's acquisition of VelosBio, the German major is spending big to get hold of the Swiss oncology biotech NBE-Therapeutics which is also targeting the ROR1 protein.

Merck continues its cancer deal streak, purchasing a pipeline of antibody-drug conjugates and bispecific antibodies against receptor tyrosine kinase-like orphan receptor 1 (ROR1).