I think Merck may be intentionally projecting conservative numbers because they know it will be a bad year,
It's in a bad cycle and they're going to come out of it in three to five years.
These vaccines, if they turn out as expected, should provide some comfort to investors by 2008 and 2009. From what we have seen so far, they look like feasible products.
I'm sure with skepticism and all kinds of rumors running around it will be better for them to clarify their strategy, ... outperform.
I think it's a decent choice, and with the challenges Merck faces, they needed someone who knows the company and knows the environment,
