US pharma giant Merck & Co has applied to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of its oral antiviral drug molnupiravir, developed together with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics. The New Jersey-based pharma and the Florida-headquartered biotech are positioning the pill as a preventative therapy, rather than as a therapeutic, the latter a path other industry heavyweights are taking.
Another “Big Pharma” company with a stalled candidate of its own is stepping in to help boost national or regional Covid-19 vaccine supply. US president Joe Biden was due to announce on Mar. 2 that Merck & Co will help make the Johnson & Johnson single-shot vaccine that received an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Feb. 27.
US pharma giant Merck has divested its direct holding in Moderna just as the US biotech is on the cusp of receiving an emergency use authorization (EUA) for its mRNA-based Covid-19. It said it expects to “record a small fourth-quarter gain.”
