MSD (tradename of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J.,USA (NYSE: MRK)) has announced three significant scientific initiatives to support the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
These initiatives are:
●MSD will acquire Themis Bioscience, a company focused on vaccines and
immune-modulation therapies for infectious diseases, including COVID-19;
●IAVI and MSD will collaborate to develop a vaccine against COVID-19; and
●MSD and Ridgeback Bio will collaborate to advance the development of an oral
antiviral candidate for COVID-19.
Themis acquisition MSD will, through a subsidiary, acquire privately-held Themis, and apply its industry-leading vaccine development capabilities to the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine programme originated by Themis and Institut Pasteur.The planned acquisition builds on an ongoing collaboration between the two companies to develop vaccine candidates using the measles virus vector platform and is expected to accelerate the development of Themis’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate. The vaccine candidate is in pre-clinical development, and clinical studies are planned to start later this year.
IAVI collaboration
Under this agreement MSD and IAVI, a nonprofit scientific research organization dedicated to addressing urgent, unmet global health challenges, will work together to advance the development and global clinical evaluation of a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate designed and engineered by IAVI scientists.The vaccine candidate is in preclinical development, and clinical studies are planned to start later in 2020.
Both organisations will work together to develop the vaccine
and make it accessible and affordable globally, if approved.
This vaccine candidate will use the recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (rVSV) technology that is the basis for MSD’s Ebola Zaire virus vaccine, ERVEBO® (Ebola Zaire Vaccine, Live) – the first rVSV vaccine approved for use in humans. MSD will also provide initial funding support for this effort.
Another collaboration involves MSD and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, a closely held biotechnology company, teaming up to develop EIDD-2801. The compound is an orally available antiviral candidate currently in early clinical development for the treatment of
patients with COVID-19.
“Preclinical studies show EIDD-2801 has potent antiviral properties against multiple coronavirus strains including SARS-CoV-2,” said Dr Priya Agrawal, Managing Director for MSD in South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. “We are eager to advance the next phase of clinical studies as rapidly and responsibly as possible.”
“As a company dedicated to saving and improving lives, we’re really excited about these collaborations. Our involvement in developing and rolling out Ebola vaccines showed that an effective pandemic response requires partnerships across countries and companies. We’re committed to partnering to accelerate the most promising solutions to combat the COVID-19 pandemic,” Dr Agrawal said.
