KRTX vs MRK

Karuna Therapeutics Inc.

Karuna Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, creates and delivers transformative medicines for people living with psychiatric and neurological conditions. Its lead product candidate is KarXT, an oral modulator of muscarinic receptors that has completed Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of acute psychosis in patients with schizophrenia; and in Phase Ib clinical trial for the treatment of central nervous system disorders, such as negative and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia and psychosis, as well as for the treatment of dementia-related psychosis. The company also focuses on developing other muscarinic-targeted drug candidates. Karuna Therapeutics, Inc. has a license agreement with Eli Lilly and Company; patent license agreement with PureTech Health LLC; and drug discovery partnership with Charles River Laboratories, as well as drug discovery collaboration with PsychoGenics, Inc. The company was formerly known as Karuna Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and changed its name to Karuna Therapeutics, Inc. in March 2019. Karuna Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

Merck & Company Inc.

Merck & Co., Inc. operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health segments. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, diabetes, and women's health, as well as vaccine products. The Animal Health segment provides discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets a range of veterinary pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and health management solutions and services, as well as a suite of digitally connected identification, traceability, and monitoring products. The company has collaborations with AstraZeneca PLC; Bayer AG; Eisai Co., Ltd.; and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics. It serves drug wholesalers and retailers, hospitals, and government agencies; managed health care providers, such as health maintenance organizations, pharmacy benefit managers, and other institutions; and physicians and physician distributors, veterinarians, and animal producers. The company has collaboration agreement with Gilead Sciences, Inc. to co-develop and co-commercialize long-acting investigational treatment combinations of Lenacapavir and Islatravir in HIV; Amathus Therapeutics to develop treatments for neurodegenerative diseases; and Linnaeus Therapeutics, Inc. to evaluate LNS8801 in combination with KEYTRUDA for patients with advanced cancer. It also has a collaboration with Biomed X Gmbh for building on ongoing research projects in the fields of oncology (DNA damage response and RNA splicing) and autoimmunity (intestinal epithelial barrier in autoimmune diseases); and a collaboration agreement with NGM Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. to focus primarily on the development of novel medicines for unmet patient needs in retinal and CVM diseases, including heart failure. Merck & Co., Inc. was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Kenilworth, New Jersey.