German to weigh need to purchase Merck & co's COVID-19 drug
By Ludwig Burger and Riham Alkousaa
FRANKFURT, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Germany will hold talks on whether it needs to make bulk purchases of Merck & Co's promising drug candidate for the treatment of COVID-19, its health minister said on Wednesday.
Germany had always secured access to effective COVID-19 treatments early, minister Jens Spahn told a news conference, when asked whether the country would seek to buy Merck's molnupiravir, which has shown promise in a trial.
The government plans to "hold talks with the manufacturers about whether it is necessary to secure volumes at all or whether the market launch is done in such a way that (drugs) are available in sufficient quantities. This is on our agenda," Spahn said.
(Reporting by Ludwig Burger and Riham Alkousaa)
