Pharmacist Merck said Monday it will end development of its two Covid-19 vaccines and focus pandemic research on treatments, with initial data on the effectiveness of an experimental oral antiviral expected in late March.
Merck said in a statement that it will file a pre-fourth quarter interruption charge for vaccine candidate V591, which it acquired with the purchase of Austrian vaccine maker Themis Bioscience, and V590, developed with the nonprofit research organization IAVI .
In the first trials, both vaccines generated lower immune responses than those seen in people who had recovered from Covid-19, as well as those reported for other vaccines against Covid-19, the company said.
Merck arrived late to join the race to develop a vaccine to protect against the coronavirus, which has so far killed more than 2 million people and continues to grow in many parts of the world, including the United States.
In December, U.S. regulators authorized the Covid-19 vaccines from Moderna and partners Pfizer and BioNTech, and so far tens of millions of doses of both have been administered worldwide. Rivals Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca and others are also competing to develop safe and effective vaccines to protect themselves against the virus.
Merck said it will focus research and manufacturing of Covid-19 on two investigational drugs: MK-7110 and MK-4482, which it now calls molnupiravir.
Molnupiravir, which is being developed in collaboration with Ridgeback Bio, is an oral antiviral that is being studied in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Merck said a phase 2/3 trial of the drug is scheduled to end in May, but initial efficacy results are due to be released during the first trimester and will be made public if they are clinically significant.
Merck said results from a phase 3 study of MK-7110, an immune modulator that is being studied as a treatment for hospitalized patients with severe Covid-19, are expected during the first trimester. In December, the company announced an agreement to supply MK-7110 to the U.S. government for approximately $ 356 million.