Merck Ahead Of Pfizer In Talks With Europe For COVID-19 Pills: Reuters

The European Union is negotiating with Merck & Co Inc MRK and Pfizer Inc PFE over possible contracts to supply COVID-19 drugs, an EU official told Reuters.
Both the companies have developed antiviral pills that have shown promising efficacy in trials of adults with COVID-19 who are at high risk of serious illness, with Pfizer's at 89% and Merck's around 50%.
"Contacts are ongoing with both," the EU official familiar with the discussions, asking not to be named as the negotiations are confidential.
The official added that the talks with Merck were more advanced because it has already begun submitting data to the European Union's drugs regulator.
Pfizer has yet to submit any data because preliminary results of its trials were published only last week, a month after Merck's results.
Related Link: Britain Approves First Oral COVID-19 Antiviral From Merck.
Britain has procured 480,000 courses of Merck's pill and 250,000 courses of Pfizer's.
Pfizer expects to produce over 180,000 courses of its therapy by the end of 2021, whereas Merck plans output of 10 million courses.
Price Action: MRK shares are down 0.19% at $81.45, and PFE shares are down 0.92% at $48.16 during the market session on the last check Monday.