The latest agreement – worth around $1 billion – means that the US has now called dibs on 3.1 million doses of molnupiravir, which was approved in the UK as a treatment for people with mild to moderate COVID-19 who are at increased risk of developing severe disease last week as Lagevrio.
It also has an option on another 2 million doses, so that represents around half of the 10 million doses of molnupiravir that Merck and Ridgeback say they will be able to manufacture by the end of 2021. The UK has ordered another 480,000 doses.
