By Colin Kellaher

Merck & Co. and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics on Tuesday said the U.S. government is exercising two options to buy a total of 1.4 million additional courses of their molnupiravir Covid-19 drug for about $1 billion.

The companies said the order is subject to U.S. Food and Drug Administration emergency-use approval of the pill, which can be taken at home and has been shown to reduce death and hospitalization in higher-risk patients.

The FDA is currently reviewing molnupiravir, and experts who advise the agency are scheduled to meet later this month, which could set up the drug's U.S. authorization by the end of the year.

Merck and Ridgeback said the U.S. government has now committed to buy roughly 3.1 million courses of molnupiravir, for around $2.2 billion, for delivery between authorization and early 2022. The U.S. also holds options to buy more than two million additional courses.

The U.K. last week became the first country to authorize use of the pill. Merck has said it plans to produce 10 million courses of the treatment by the end of this year, and at least 20 million in 2022.

-Jared S. Hopkins contributed to this article

Write to Colin Kellaher at colin.kellaher@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 09, 2021 06:34 ET (11:34 GMT)

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