MerckCNBC spoke with Robert Davis, CEO of the drugmaker. He said Thursday that the company is prepared to make and distribute many millions of Covid antiviral drugs if regulators approve.

Robert Davis, Merck’s CEO and founder, said that the company is on target to produce 10 million more courses by year-end. This figure will be nearly double next year.Squawk Box“

The advisory board for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is scheduledThe safety and efficacy of the pill (known as Molnupiravir) was evaluated on Nov. 30, with the decision to approve the emergency use authorization for U.S. Merck. Ridgeback Biotherapeutic stated that the tablet is internal. dataMolnupiravir was able to reduce the death and hospitalization rates from Covid by half.

Davis stated, “I can assure you that this drug is safe based on the evidence we have and the studies done.”

Molnupiravir if approved would be the first Covid approved treatment in pill format. This would diversify the appeal of the company to investors who are tired of Merck’s dependency on Keytruda as a business model growth driver. Merck has also been recently acquired biopharm company AcceleronTo expand the company’s cardiovascular infrastructure.

Merck has entered the an agreementCovid will be manufactured by the United Nations-backed Covid Antiviral Pill. To address the health inequalities highlighted by vaccine distribution, the agreement will allow Molnupiravir production to continue by world-class pharmaceutical companies. As long as Covid is still classified by the World Health Organization as a public emergency, Merck won’t receive royalties for sales.

According to the World Health Organization, more than 244,000,000 confirmed cases of Covid have occurred worldwide since the outbreak of the pandemic. There were also 4.9 million deaths. WHO data

Davis indicated that Merck’s future holds great potential. Davis said that he is excited about Merck’s pipeline, and about its potential to grow. He also stated that he believes there are more opportunities for the stock because he continues to believe in 2024’s growth.

Expectations of Wall Street beat by Merck quarterly resultsIts stock rose roughly 2% during Thursday’s premarket. On revenue of $13.1 million, the company posted an adjusted 1.75 share. Merck has raised its outlook for the full year.