Merck says early data from Covid-19 vaccines expected this year

Initial data showing whether V591 triggers an immune response in trial participants is expected by the end of the year

Merck & Co Inc on Tuesday said it expects to report results from early-stage studies of two potential COVID-19 vaccines before the end of the year and has advanced an experimental antiviral drug into late-stage testing.

Merck was late to join the race to develop a vaccine to protect against the virus, which is again surging in many parts of the world including the United States. Rivals Pfizer Inc, AstraZeneca Plc and Moderna Inc are already deep into late-stage testing.

The company began recruiting trial participants in September for an early-stage study of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate V591, which it acquired with