Merck Halts Development of Possible COVID-19 Vaccines Following Results

Kenilworth-based Merck has announced that the company is halting development of its COVID-19, V590 and V591 vaccine candidates.

The decision follows the company’s review of the results of Phase 1 clinical studies for vaccines.

In studies, V590 and V591 were generally well tolerated, but immune responses were lower than those seen after natural infection and those reported for other SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19 vaccines.

The company now plans to focus its COVID-19 research strategy and production capabilities on advancing two therapeutic candidates, MK-4482 and MK-7110.