Merck Inks Deal With U.S. Government To Supply 1.7 Mln Courses Of Molnupiravir KENILWORTH (NJ) (dpa-AFX) - Merck & Co Inc. (MRK), known as MSD outside the U. S. and Canada, today announced it has entered into a procurement agreement with the U.S. government for molnupiravir (MK-4482). Merck is developing molnupiravir in collaboration with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics. Through the agreement, if molnupiravir receives Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) or approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Merck will receive approximately $1.2 billion to supply approximately 1.7 million courses of molnupiravir to the U.S. government. Molnupiravir is currently being evaluated in a Phase 3 clinical trial, the MOVe-OUT study, for the treatment of non-hospitalized patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 and at least one risk factor associated with poor disease outcomes.