Covid-19 roundup: Roger Perl­mut­ter hus­tles up hu­man vac­cine tri­als as Mer­ck looks to catch up on Covid-19; Chi­na hacked Mod­er­na, per of­fi­cial

Mer­ck, the late­com­er to the Covid-19 vac­cine race, said to­day that it will push its first can­di­date in­to the clin­ic this quar­ter and move the oth­er one there by the end of the year.

They are like­ly go­ing to be sin­gle-dose reg­i­mens, Mer­ck not­ed, as op­posed to the prime-boost ap­proach be­ing adopt­ed in Phase III stud­ies by Mod­er­na, Pfiz­er/BioN­Tech and As­traZeneca/Ox­ford.

For the first time since the com­pa­ny threw its name in­to the hat with one li­cens­ing deal and an ac­qui­si­tion, R&D chief Roger Perl­mut­ter al­so of­fered his thoughts on how the fron­trun­ners are do­ing, why he didn’t go with an mR­NA ap­proach de­spite a long­stand­ing part­ner­ship with Mod­er­na, and what gaps Mer­ck’s pro­grams might fill.

Unlock this article instantly by becoming a free subscriber.

You’ll get access to free articles each month, plus you can customize what newsletters get delivered to your inbox each week, including breaking news.

SIGN UP LOG IN BECOME A PREMIUM SUBSCRIBER