Merck May Beat Pfizer to the COVID Pill Market. Does It Matter?
Big pharma companies Merck (NYSE: MRK) and Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) have been neck and neck in the most recent coronavirus race: the race to develop a pill to fight the virus. Pfizer has drawn a lot of attention due to its leadership in the coronavirus vaccine market. The idea has been this: If Pfizer brings the first pill to market, the company can dominate in prevention and treatment.
Merck may have burst that Pfizer dream last week though. Merck reported strong data from trials of its investigational covid pill -- and said it would request emergency authorization as soon as possible. Pfizer said back in July it would report data from its trial in the fourth quarter. Of course, that could be at any point as of now. Still, it's clear Merck is a step ahead from a timeline perspective. Let's take a closer look at what this means for Pfizer and its shareholders.
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Source Fool.com
