The experimental antiviral drug molnupiravir being developed by New Jersey drug maker Merck with Ridgeback Bio shows a rapid reduction in the infectious virus in a study among participants with initial COVID-19.
Molnupiravir is being tested in a Phase 2/3 trial set to be completed in May.
Merck will receive up to $ 268.8 million in funding from the United States Department of Health and Human Services Advanced Biomedical Research and Development Authority.
The associate professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, William Fischer, called the findings “promising.”
“We are firmly committed to contributing to the global response to the pandemic as part of the remarkable efforts of the entire medical and scientific community,” added Merck Executive Vice President of Human Health, Mike Nally.
Headquartered in Kenilworth, Merck is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. The company has several locations in the region, including Rahwah, Branchburg, Linden and several others in Montgomery County, PA.
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