The New Jersey-based Merck said Saturday that the experimental antiviral drug molnupiravir, which it developed with Ridgeback Bio, showed a rapid reduction in the infectious virus in a study among participants with early COVID-19.
“We continue to make progress with our Phase 2/3 clinical programs that evaluate molnupiravir in outpatients as well as hospital settings,” said Roy Baynes, Head of Global Clinical Development and Chief Medical Officer at Merck Research Laboratories.
Ridgeback Biotherapeutics is a biotechnology company focusing on emerging infectious diseases. It is currently marketing Ebanga for the treatment of Ebola
Molnupiravir, which Merck officials say appears to be effective in several strains of SARS-CoV-2, was invented by Drug Innovations at Emory, a non-profit biotechnology company wholly owned by Emory University.
The company said that of the 202 treated participants, no “safety signals” were identified in the ongoing clinical trial. Of the four serious side effects reported, none were considered drug related.
“The secondary objective findings in this study, of a faster decrease in infectious virus among individuals with early COVID-19 treated with molnupiravir, are promising,” said William Fischer, associate professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. , in a statement from the two companies.
Last month, Merck, which has its headquarters in Kenilworth, said it was abandoning two potential COVID vaccines after poor results in early studies.
But earlier this week, Merck announced that it would help produce the rival vaccine against Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine in an effort to expand supply faster.
“We are adamant in our commitment to contribute to the global response to the pandemic as part of the remarkable efforts of the entire medical and scientific community,” said Mike Nally, executive vice president of Human Health at Merck.
The announcement comes as the White House is trying to speed up the production of the single-dose vaccine, after J&J faced unexpected production problems with the vaccine and produced only 3.9 million doses before obtaining emergency use last week. .
The company will fund up to $ 268.8 million in funding for Merck to adapt and make available several existing manufacturing facilities for the manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines and medicines. .
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Ted Sherman can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @TedShermanSL.