The beat illustrates reporter Peter Loftus’s timely and insightful coverage of the drug maker Merck & Co. as it undertook a $41 billion merger with Schering-Plough, a deal struck to address business challenges such as generic competition for Merck drugs and drug-research setbacks. In addition to his thorough coverage on the day the deal was announced, Loftus provided coverage of Merck throughout the year that highlighted how the company had to continue to juggle those challenges even as it tried to close the merger.
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