Merck and Partner Ridgeback Fill U.S. Order for Covid-19 Pill

Merck & Co. said that it had provided about 3.1 million courses of its Covid-19 pill to the U.S. government, fulfilling the terms of a federal pact that the drugmaker and partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutics LP agreed to last year. The companies said in a statement on Tuesday that they have completed manufacturing of 10 million courses of the therapy and are on track to make at least 20 million courses this year. The surge in coronavirus infections in the U.S. spurred by the omicron variant has caused demand for treatments to soar.