Merck’s Covid Pill Changes Drugmaker’s Fate After Failed Shots

Merck & Co. hasn’t been a major name in Covid. It failed twice in its quest to devise a vaccine and scrapped a drug it acquired through a $425 million deal months prior. Its Covid pill, which also disappointed in hospitalized patients in April, may end up being the key to turning this story around.

Merck’s drug molnupiravir, which it’s developing with privately held Ridgeback Biotherapeutics LP, reduced the risk of hospitalization or death by 50% in a late-stage clinical trial. If it succeeds, molnupiravir would be the first antiviral pill developed specifically to target Covid-19 to hit the ...