Merck has entered into a Supply Agreement with the Government of Canada for up to 1 million patient courses of molnupiravir, its investigational oral antiviral medicine for the treatment of COVID-19. This investigational medicine is being developed by Merck in collaboration with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics.

Through this agreement, the Government of Canada has secured access in 2022 to 500,000 patient courses, with options for up to 500,000 more, pending Health Canada approval. This new agreement is part of Merck's commitment to make this investigational medicine widely available globally, if approved for use by regulatory agencies.

"We applaud the leadership of the federal government who has worked tirelessly to bolster pandemic preparedness against COVID-19. While vaccines continue to play a primary role in helping prevent the spread and seriousness of cases, more treatment options are urgently needed to help reduce the burden of COVID-19," said Marwan Akar, President and Managing Director of Merck Canada.

In November, Merck Canada filed the final wave of the molnupiravir rolling submission to Health Canada, which will decide on the therapy's approval only when all necessary evidence has been reviewed.