Category: merck

Gates Foundation to Fund $120 Million to Increase Oral COVID-19 Drug Distribution to Poor Nations

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in its COVID-19 response, will fund up to $120 million to increase access to an experimental drug for lower-income countries, which will be used in treating COVID-19, the foundation announced on Tuesday. The funding will support efforts to develop and make generic versions of what could become the first oral…


Facts Matter (Oct. 18): US Taxpayers Set to Pay $712 per Patient for Merck’s New COVID Pill

A new COVID-19 pill that can purportedly cut the risk of both hospitalization as well as death from COVID-19—by as much as 50 percent—is now in the process of getting emergency use authorization. However, according to several researchers, the technology that this pill uses runs the risk of potentially causing cancer, although, according to one…


US Set to Pay $712 Per Patient for Merck’s COVID-19 Pill

Merck is set to get $712 per treatment course for its COVID-19 pill from the U.S. government—even as it costs a fraction of that to produce, and is reportedly on track for a price of $12 in India. The gap between production costs and the price for molnupiravir is gigantic and emblematic of a problem…


Merck Seeks Authorization From US Regulators for Antiviral COVID-19 Treatment

Merck and its partner on Monday announced they filed an emergency use authorization application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for their oral antiviral medicine for the treatment of COVID-19. The pill is meant to combat cases of mild or moderate COVID-19. Merck said last week that an interim analysis of its phase…


Merck Shares Soar on COVID-19 Pill Trial Results, Vaccine Stocks Dip

Shares of Merck & Co surged on positive clinical trial results of its experimental antiviral COVID-19 pill while high-flying stocks of vaccine companies and makers of other coronavirus therapies were bruised. Merck shares jumped as much as 12.3 percent and hit their highest level since February 2020 after data showed the company’s pill molnupiravir could halve…


NTD Business Full Broadcast (Oct. 1)

Inflation, a key indicator closely watched by the Fed, is still at historically high levels. Is it going to slow down growth going forward? Drugmaker Merck’s stock is up 8 percent Friday. It says its experimental drug for COVID-19 cuts the risk of death or hospitalization by 50 percent. It’s applying for emergency use with…


Wall Street Set to Open Higher on Bargain Hunting, Merck Boost

Wall Street’s main indexes were set to rise on Friday as steep losses in September saw investors buying into cheaper sectors, while drugmaker Merck rose on marking progress in the development of an oral COVID-19 drug. Shares of Merck & Co. Inc. jumped 8.3 percent in premarket trading after the company’s experimental oral drug for…


Merck Says Antiviral Pill for COVID-19 Is Effective, Plans to File for Emergency Authorization

Results from a clinical trial show that Merck’s antiviral pill for COVID-19 is effective, the company said Friday. The antiviral, molnupiravir, cut the risk of hospitalization or death in half for adults who were deemed at risk but not hospitalized, according to a planned interim analysis of the trial. Compared to the 14.1 percent of…


Merck to Buy Acceleron for About $11.5 Billion in Rare Disease Drug Push

Merck & Co. is buying Acceleron Pharma Inc. for about $11.5 billion, broadening its portfolio beyond aging cancer drug Keytruda with potential treatments that could bring in fresh revenue. The deal gives Merck access to Acceleron’s rare disease drug candidate, sotatercept, which the company expects to be a multi-billion dollar peak sales opportunity, and comes…


US Spending $1.2 Billion on Merck’s COVID-19 Treatment Is a ‘Waste of Taxpayers’ Money’: Doctor

A critical care doctor has said it’s a waste of taxpayers’ money for the U.S. government to purchase drug company Merck’s anti-viral treatment for COVID-19, if it’s approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Dr. Pierre Kory, president and chief medical officer of the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC), said there’s no…