Merck abandons coronavirus vaccines

Pharmaceutical giant Merck (NYSE: MRK) officially threw in the towel on its efforts to develop a COVID-19 vaccine. The company said it was halting the development of two candidates, V590 and V591, after a review of the results of Phase 1 studies indicated they were unlikely to provide adequate protection against the coronavirus. Instead, it will focus its COVID-19 research and production capabilities on two therapeutic drugs for the disease.

Merck hinted at a conference last month that the efficiency rates of Modernthe mRNA vaccine and that developed by the collaborative partners Pfizer and BioNTech were better than he expected and set the bar high for his efforts. Both V590 and V591 were found to produce immune responses that were inferior not only to those produced by other vaccines, but to those seen in patients who recovered from COVID-19 infections.

Merck is the world’s second-largest vaccine seller, but had been hesitant to develop one for COVID-19, being several months behind in the race. Eventually, he initiated programs to develop single-dose vaccine candidates based on proven technology, one using the viral vector used by Merck in its approved Ebola vaccine, and the other from a company it owned. acquired last year in the hope of obtaining several injections on the COVID-19 goal. Instead, Merck will charge a non-cash charge to its fourth quarter results for programs.

However, the pharmaceutical company still has high hopes for two candidates for COVID-19 treatment. MK-7110 is an anti-inflammatory drug that appears to reduce the risk of death or respiratory failure by 50% in patients with moderately to severely ill COVID-19. The results of the phase 3 trial are expected in the first quarter. Molnupiravir (MK-4482) is an oral antiviral currently being evaluated in trials slated for completion in May. If successful, this drug could compete with Gileadremdesivir, which faces some skepticism about its effectiveness.