The FDA decision on Merck & Co. Inc.’s (MRK) Vericiguat, proposed for the treatment of patients with symptomatic chronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, is expected on January 20, 2021.Vericiguat is being jointly developed with Bayer AG. In a pivotal phase III trial, dubbed VICTORIA, Vericiguat was effective at reducing the incidence of death from cardiovascular causes or hospitalization for heart failure among patients with high-risk heart failure by 10% compared with placebo.Vericiguat is a novel oral soluble guanylate cyclase stimulator, and it works by stimulating an enzyme in the body called soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) that is essential for improving heart function and allowing blood vessels to relax in order to provide better blood flow.If approved, Vericiguat could compete with Novartis’ Entresto and AstraZeneca’s Farxiga. Entresto had annual sales of $1.7 billion in 2019 while Farxiga recorded sales of $1.54 billion. MRK closed Monday’s (Dec.28, 2020) trading at $80.45, up 0.39%.