The continued decline of Merck & Co.’s HPV vaccine Gardasil in China has come to a head as the New Jersey drug giant is halting shipments to the world’s second-most populous country. | The recent decline of Merck & Co.

Shares of Merck are sliding in early trading after the drugmaker surprised Wall Street with a lower-than-expected 2025 sales forecast due partly to a pause in shipments of one of its top-selling products to China.

Merck said on Tuesday it would not ship its HPV vaccine Gardasil in China until at least the middle of this year due to weak discretionary spending, a move that dented its full-year forecast and sent shares tumbling 11% in early trading.