Biopharmaceutical company Merck says it has discontinued development of its 2 COVID-19 Vaccine Candidates after phase 1 clinical studies showed the immune responses were inferior to those seen following natural infection and those reported from other vaccines. Merck and its collaborators plan to submit the results of the Phase 1 studies for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
The company says it plans to focus on two therapeutic candidates. One has shown a greater than 50 percent reduction in the risk of death or respiratory failure in patients hospitalized with moderate to severe COVID-19. The other is an oral novel investigational antiviral agent.