REGN - Merck hurt by another setback in its battle against COVID-19

In January, when Merck ([[MRK]] +0.4%) announced its plans to abandon the development of two potential COVID-19 vaccines, the company reaffirmed its commitment to MK-7110 and MK-4482 (molnupiravir), two investigational coronavirus therapies.As vaccine rollout gains momentum despite extremely rare adverse events linked to two of the manufacturers, Merck’s foothold in therapeutics is narrowing too.Today, the company announced its decision to discontinue the development of MK-7110 citing an extended timeline for a potential commercial rollout following an additional data request by the FDA to support its EUA (emergency use authorization) application.The company has even scaled back the targeted patient population for MK-4482 disclosing its updated trial design today to include only outpatients with COVID-19 in the Phase 3 portion (Part 2) of the MOVe-OUT study.Earlier, Merck had designed the Phase 2/3 clinical trials for MK-4482 including both the hospital and out-patient settings for MOVe-IN and MOVe-OUT clinical trials, respectively.“Data from MOVe-IN indicate that molnupiravir is unlikely

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Merck hurt by another setback in its battle against COVID-19