Merck Delivered 900,000 Antiviral Courses to U.S. Last Month

(Bloomberg) -- Merck & Co. delivered 900,000 courses of its Covid-19 antiviral pill to the U.S. in December and is set to provide 3 million courses ordered by the government by the end of January, Chief Executive Officer Rob Davis said.

Despite the supply-chain issues that have plagued companies around the world, Davis said Merck was able to make 10 million courses of the drug, molnupiravir, as expected last year. They just need to be labeled and shipped, he said.

“We’re confident we’re going to deliver the product,” Davis said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Monday. “We’re not seeing issues.”

Molnupiravir, which Merck makes in partnership with biotech Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, was authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in high-risk adults in late December. Merck has said it will make at least 20 million courses of molnupiravir in 2022.

The company still expects $5 billion to $7 billion in revenue from molnupiravir through the end of this year, Davis said. 

Davis also said on Monday that molnupiravir appears to hold up against the omicron variant, citing preclinical testing. The company expects the drug will continue to hold up against future coronavirus variants, he said. 

Davis spoke on the first day of the annual JPMorgan Healthcare Conference. Merck has been on the hunt for deals to help diversify its portfolio of medications. The drugmaker completed the acquisition of Acceleron, a biotech focused on rare disease treatments, in November.

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