Merck Shuts Down Covid Vaccine Program After Lackluster Data

Immune response to candidates is inferior to existing shots
Merck to repurpose resources, facilities to Covid-19 therapies

Vehicles enter the campus of Merck headquarters in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, U.S., on Thursday, Dec. 13, 2007. Merck & Co.'s cholesterol pill Cordaptive failed to win approval from U.S. regulators, less than a week after it was recommended for marketing in the European Union.
Photographer: Emile Wamsteker/Bloomberg

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By Riley Griffin

January 25, 2021 at 11:45 AM UTC

Updated on

January 25, 2021 at 3:02 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Merck & Co. is discontinuing development of its two experimental Covid-19 vaccines after early trial data showed they failed to generate immune responses comparable to a natural infection or existing vaccines.

The U.S. drug giant, which has a history of successfully developing vaccines, had adopted a different strategy from rivals Pfizer Inc., Moderna Inc. and Johnson & Johnson, using a more traditional approach of focusing on shots based on weakened viruses. One, called V590, borrowed technology from Merck’s Ebola inoculation, while the other, V591, is based on a measles vaccine used in Europe.