Merck Triples Efforts to Combat COVID-19

Merck is embarking on three significant scientific initiatives to combat COVID-19: two agreements to develop potential vaccines and a research collaboration to advance the development of a novel antiviral candidate:

• Merck to acquire Themis Bioscience, a company focused on vaccines and immune-modulation therapies for infectious diseases, including COVID-19;
• IAVI and Merck collaborate to develop COVID-19 vaccine;
• Merck and Ridgeback Bio collaborate to advance development of an oral antiviral candidate for COVID-19.

“With our singular legacy and expertise in vaccines and anti-infective medicines, we know Merck has a responsibility to engage in the scientific community’s efforts to find new medicines and vaccines to bring this pandemic to an end,” said Kenneth C. Frazier, chairman and chief executive officer, Merck. “Merck has been fully committed to developing an effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic since it was first recognized, and we know that success will require global collaboration among countries and companies and more. Today, we are proud to mark the culmination of our swift, conscientious and concerted effort to identify some of the most promising solutions to this global challenge and to put our resources to use in accelerating these efforts. We will ensure that all of these programs have the resources, attention and focus they need – and that the COVID-19 pandemic demands…COVID-19 is a global challenge and requires global solutions. Merck intends to make any vaccine or medicine we develop for this pandemic broadly accessible and affordable globally, and we are working now to accomplish this goal as quickly as possible.” (Source: Merck Website, 26 May, 2020)