Merck Does Deals to Develop Coronavirus Vaccines, Drug -- Update
May 26 2020 - 7:00PM
Dow Jones News
By Jared S. Hopkins
Big drugmaker Merck & Co. said it is working on two
potential vaccines and an experimental drug against the
coronavirus, joining rivals in the frantic search for
medicines.
Merck, one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies by
sales, said Tuesday it is acquiring one experimental vaccine as
part of the purchase of its Austrian maker, while partnering in the
development of a second vaccine candidate and the potential
drug.
The Kenilworth, N.J., drugmaker didn't disclose the terms of the
deals.
Some 150 coronavirus vaccines are in development world-wide,
including at Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer Inc., and more than
350 drugs are in the works or being studied, according to
BioCentury, which is tracking the efforts.
Merck is a longtime maker of vaccines and antivirals, including
human papillomavirus shot Gardasil. For weeks, the company had been
looking inside its own walls for promising Covid-19 candidates,
before deciding to pursue programs started elsewhere.
"We looked inside and outside, and the things we found outside
were better," Roger Perlmutter, Merck's R&D chief, said in an
interview.
Dr. Perlmutter said Merck has specific criteria for a
coronavirus vaccine, including that it provide immunity with a
single dose so a second shot isn't needed, and that it use a proven
technology that can be scaled up readily for manufacture.
For one vaccine, Merck said it is acquiring privately held
Themis Bioscience, of Vienna. In March, Themis said it was
collaborating with the French nonprofit Institut Pasteur and the
University of Pittsburgh on Covid-19 vaccine development. Themis is
working to scale up production for clinical trials that could begin
within weeks, Dr. Perlmutter said.
Merck's second coronavirus vaccine effort will take the form of
a partnership with the scientific-research organization IAVI, whose
experimental vaccine uses the same technology that is the basis for
Merck's Ebola Zaire virus vaccine, Dr. Perlmutter said.
Merck said it would help IAVI, a New York-based nonprofit,
further develop the vaccine, which could begin human testing later
this year.
In addition, Merck said it would license the rights to an
experimental Covid-19 drug from privately held Ridgeback
Biotherapeutics LP of Miami. Merck plans to continue developing the
drug, which is entering midstage testing in patients this week, Dr.
Perlmutter said.
The drug works like remdesivir from Gilead Sciences Inc., which
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized for emergency
Covid-19 use on May 1, after a trial showed it shortened
hospitalized patients' recovery time.
Merck plans to target the drug at Covid-19 patients who aren't
yet severely sick, even if hospitalized, Dr. Perlmutter said.
Chief Executive Ken Frazier said he wouldn't commit to a vaccine
being ready within 12 to 18 months, as other companies and public
officials have suggested is possible, because of the large clinical
trials needed.
"Those take time. There's no two ways about it," he said in an
interview. "We will move as rapidly and responsibly as we can, in
conjunction with regulators, but I do not see any way around large
clinical trials to show whether something is in fact safe and
effective across a large population."
Write to Jared S. Hopkins at jared.hopkins@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 26, 2020 18:45 ET (22:45 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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