Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics Provide Update on New Clinical and Non-Clinical Studies of LAGEVRIO™ (molnupiravir)

RAHWAY, N.J. & MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 6, 2022--

Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics today issued the following announcement regarding data from two real-world evidence studies evaluating LAGEVRIO™ (molnupiravir), an investigational oral antiviral COVID-19 medicine. The first study, PANORAMIC, was conducted by the University of Oxford in the UK in highly-vaccinated adults mostly less than age 65 during the period when the circulating SARS-CoV-2 variant was predominantly Omicron. The second study, Clalit, was conducted by investigators in Israel in mostly older adults with underlying chronic health conditions that make them vulnerable to severe COVID-19 disease, also when Omicron was the most dominant strain. The PANORAMIC pre-print was published today and the Clalit pre-print was published last week. Additionally, Merck is reporting results from a recent carcinogenicity study in transgenic mice, which demonstrated that LAGEVRIO was not carcinogenic at any dose tested.

Preliminary results from the PANORAMIC study

The PANORAMIC study, a UK-based clinical trial sponsored by the University of Oxford, included 25,783 participants who were randomized to open label treatment with LAGEVRIO plus usual care (n=12,821) or usual care alone (n=12,962); mean age of participants was