KENILWORTH, N.J. & MIAMI– Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics today announced that a total of approximately 3.1 million courses of molnupiravir, an investigational oral antiviral COVID-19 medicine, have been provided to the U.S. government for allocation across the country. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has created a public website to help providers identify locations that have received shipments of government-procured COVID-19 therapeutics available under Emergency Use Authorization. In 2021, Merck entered a procurement agreement with the U.S. government under which the company agreed to supply approximately 3.1 million courses of molnupiravir to the U.S. government upon Emergency Use Authorization or approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
“As we start 2022, more than 2,000 COVID-19 deaths are being reported in the U.S. daily, which underscores the need for medicines including molnupiravir that can be taken at home. In line with our commitment to accelerating access to molnupiravir in the U.S., we have now supplied more than 3 million courses to the U.S. government within approximately 7 weeks of receiving Emergency Use Authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration,” said Robert M. Davis, chief executive officer and president, Merck. “I am grateful to our colleagues who have worked tirelessly over the past year to accomplish this goal and to the health care providers who remain on the front lines of caring for patients with COVID-19.”
“We believe that molnupiravir will be a critical addition in helping curb the impact of COVID-19 on patients and health care systems in the U.S., particularly with the medicine’s antiviral activity against many variants of concern. We will continue to work with urgency to bring this important medicine to appropriate patients as quickly as possible,” said Wendy Holman, chief executive officer, Ridgeback Biotherapeutics.
In addition to the U.S. agreement, Merck has entered into advance purchase and supply agreements for molnupiravir in more than 30 markets worldwide, including Australia, Canada, Korea, Japan, Thailand, Ukraine and United Kingdom, pending regulatory authorizations, and is currently in discussions with additional governments. To date, Merck has shipped molnupiravir to more than 25 countries; in countries where it is approved or authorized, patients have begun to receive the medicine.
