In 1887 a German-born, long-time Merck employee, Theodore Weicker, went to the United States to represent the Darmstadt firm. In 1891, with a capital of $200,000 received from E. Merck, Weicker started the American Merck & Co, with headquarters in lower Manhattan.
Merck & Co., Inc., d.b.a. Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) outside the United States and Canada, is now an American multinational pharmaceutical company and one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Merck is incorporated in New Jersey. Merck publishes The Merck Manuals, a series of medical reference books for physicians, nurses, technicians, and veterinarians. These include the Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy, the world's best-selling medical reference. The Merck Index, a compendium of chemical compounds, was formerly published by Merck & Co. before being acquired by the Royal Society of Chemistry in 2012.
The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society (professional association) in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the Royal Institute of Chemistry, the Faraday Society, and the Society for Analytical Chemistry with a new Royal Charter and the dual role of learned society and professional body. The headquarters of the Society are at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London. It also has offices in Thomas Graham House in Cambridge (named after Thomas Graham, the first president of the Chemical Society) where RSC Publishing is based. The Society has offices in the United States at the University City Science Center, Philadelphia, in both Beijing and Shanghai, China and Bangalore, India.
On 5 February 2020 Merck announced the formation of a new, independent publicly traded company focused on its Women's Health, trusted Legacy Brands, and Biosimilars businesses. Carrie Cox will be named Chairman of the Board of Directors. Cox formerly served as chair of Array BioPharma, Inc., CEO and chair of Humacyte, Inc., president of Global Pharmaceuticals at Schering-Plough Corporation, executive vice president of Pharmacia Corporation and vice president of Women's Health Care at Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories, Inc. In March 2020, Merck & Co. was one of ten companies recognized at the inaugural Manufacturing Awards by New Jersey Business magazine and the New Jersey Business & Industry Association. In May of the same year, Merck announced it would acquire Themis Bioscience, a company focused on vaccines and immune-modulation therapies for infectious diseases and cancer. The acquisition was also notable due to Themis' research for COVID-19 treatments. In June, the business announced it had completed the acquisition of livestock analytics business; Quantified Ag. In August, Merck Animal Health completed the acquisition of DNA-based animal traceability business, IdentiGEN. In September, Merck announced it would purchase $1 billion of Seattle Genetics common stock, with both companies co-developing lead treatment: ladiratuzumab vedotin. In November, Merck announced it would acquire VelosBio for $2.75 billion, acquiring lead investigational candidate antibody-drug conjugate, VLS-101, designed to target Tyrosine kinase-like orphan receptor 1 (ROR1) in both hematological and solid tumors. VLS-101 is currently Phase I and Phase II clinical trials. In the same month, the company announced it would acquire OncoImmune for $425 million and its phase 3 candidate, CD24Fc, used in the treatment of patients with severe and critical COVID-19.
Ok, now we're up to current events. On January 25, 2021 Merck Discontinues Development of SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 Vaccines. A review of findings from Phase 1 clinical studies has left the company with the exact same truth we've all known since day 1.
"In these studies, both V590 and V591 were generally well tolerated, but the immune responses were inferior to those seen following natural infection..."
Merck has posted this article of review on Business Wire and their own company site.
The very next day they released Phase2a Investigational Once-Monthly Oral Islatravir for the Prevention of HIV-1 Infection at HIVR4P 2021
"...the company’s investigational oral nucleoside reverse transcriptase translocation inhibitor (NRTTI) -- for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Interim findings demonstrate that once-monthly oral islatravir achieved the pre-specified efficacy PK threshold for PrEP at both of the two doses studied (60 mg and 120 mg). In the interim analysis using blinded data, both monthly doses of islatravir were found to have an acceptable tolerability profile. These data are shared as a late-breaking oral presentation during the virtual 2021 HIV Research for Prevention Conference (HIVR4P 2021) and featured in the official press conference of HIVR4P 2021."
And they had this to say:
"At the time of interim data analysis, 76.8% (n=192/250) of the planned participants had been randomized and dosed. Of these participants, 32.8% (n=63/192) were male, 67.2% (n=129/192) were female, 30.2% (n=58/192) were Black or African American, and 16.1% (n=31/192) were Hispanic or Latinx. In a review of blinded safety data, most adverse events (AEs) were mild or moderate with the most common (reported in > 4% of participants) including headache (7.3%), diarrhea (5.7%), nausea (4.7%), abdominal pain (4.2%), and upper respiratory tract infection (4.2%). Two participants discontinued due to AEs currently categorized as potentially drug-related, including sensation of a foreign body in the throat (mild severity) and rash and pruritus (moderate severity)."
In short, don't let the medical field test on ya and stop to see how everything in life relates.
What was that song..., ironic?
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