Merck to Supply Unicef With 3 Million Courses of Covid Therapy
Merck will supply Unicef with up to 3 million treatment courses of molnupiravir, its drug for Covid-19.
(Bloomberg) -- Drugmaker Merck & Co. said it will supply the global relief organization Unicef with up to 3 million treatment courses of molnupiravir, the drug for Covid-19 developed with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics LP.
The companies will provide the doses in the first half of the year for distribution to more than 100 low- and middle-income countries following regulatory authorizations, according to a statement Tuesday.
The pill has been cleared for use to prevent hospitalization and death in patients at high risk of developing severe Covid. Molnupiravir and Pfizer Inc.’s Paxlovid oral therapy both appear to work better against the highly transmissible omicron variant than monoclonal antibody treatments that must be infused.
Merck was able to make 10 million courses of the drug in spite of supply-chain issues that have plagued many companies, Chief Executive Officer Rob Davis said last week.
Merck fell 0.2% in trading before U.S. markets opened.
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