On Friday, October 1st, U.S. Eastern time, the pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. (MRK) announced that the oral anti-coronavirus experimental pill jointly developed by its partner Ridgeback Biotherapy can reduce the risk of hospitalization or death by 50% and will soon Health officials in the United States and around the world are required to approve its use.
After the data was released, the Dow component Merck (MRK.N) rose more than 12% intraday to close at $81.45 per share, the highest intraday gain since 2009. The latest market value is 206.2 billion US dollars, or about 132.9 billion yuan.
Merck reveals new crown oral drug data
The drug, called Molnupiravir, is taken orally. Merck and its partner Ridgeback Biotherapy announced that they will seek emergency authorization to use the drug in the United States as soon as possible after the drug's clinical trial results show convincing results.
It is reported that a total of 775 patients with COVID-19 participated in a phase III clinical trial. These participants developed symptoms of COVID-19 and were randomly given Molnupiravir or placebo within 5 days of the onset of symptoms. These patients have never been vaccinated, and there is at least one underlying factor that makes them develop more serious cases, including obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and over 60 years of age.
The interim analysis of the Phase III clinical trial showed that only 7.3% of patients treated with Molnupiravir were hospitalized within 29 days, compared to 14.1% of patients in the placebo control group who were hospitalized or died on the 29th day. There were no deaths in patients taking Molnupiravir, while a total of 8 deaths were reported among patients taking placebo.
Studies have shown that the efficacy of Molnupiravir is not affected by the time of symptom onset or the patient's potential risk factors. The drug has also been shown to be effective against all new coronavirus variants, including the delta strain that is currently raging around the world.
Merck CEO Robert M. Davis said on Friday that the company will strive to bring Molnupiravir to patients as soon as possible. "We are extremely excited by the results of the study. Patients can use the new crown oral medicine at home, without having to go to the hospital or infusion center."
Wendy Holman, CEO of Ridgeback Biotherapy, added: "As the virus continues to spread widely, and because the currently available treatment options are injections or the need to go to a medical institution, there is an urgent need for antiviral treatment at home to prevent patients from being hospitalized. "
If the regulatory agency approves the emergency use of Molnupiravir, the drug is expected to become the first oral drug for the treatment of new coronary pneumonia. Currently widely used new crown drugs, such as Redecivir, are in the form of intravenous injection.
Merck has begun production of Molnupiravir. The company expects to produce 10 million courses of treatment this year and more doses in 2022.
Molnupiravir is still an expensive drug. In June of this year, Merck and the US government reached an agreement that once the drug obtained emergency authorization, the US government would purchase 1.7 million courses of the drug at a price of 1.2 billion US dollars, which is equivalent to US$705 per treatment course, or about 4540 yuan. .
Merck has also signed supply and purchase agreements for the drug with the governments of other countries (subject to regulatory approval), and is discussing the supply of molnupiravir with the governments of other countries.
Merck's stock price skyrocketed, vaccine concept stocks fell as a whole
After the news was released, Merck’s share price soared, once soaring 12%, closing at 81.4 US dollars, the highest intraday increase since 2009.
At the same time, the new crown pneumonia vaccine research and development company CureVac fell more than 14.7%, Novavax fell 12.4%, Modena fell about 11.4%, Vaxart fell about 9.7%, BioNTech fell about 6.7%, and INO fell more than 6.4%. , Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca fell more than 0.6%, and Pfizer Pharmaceuticals also fell nearly 0.2%.
Wall Street analysts pointed out that the clinical data of Merck’s anti-coronavirus drug and its large-scale production capacity will change the pattern of the epidemic, and the drug may be authorized for emergency use this year. It is expected that oral drugs will make "significant progress" in the fight against the new crown, and will change the pattern of the epidemic due to their ease of use and large-scale production capacity. Barclays analyst Carter Gould expects that the drug will be directly authorized by the FDA for emergency use. Morgan Stanley analyst Matthew Harrison wrote that the data is a major benefit for patients and the broader public perception of risks related to the new crown.
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