Welcome back to New World next week.

I'm James Corporate, Corporate Report.com.

And I'm James Evan Palado for MediaMonarchy.com.

There's no need to create an account.

All you do is enter your health card number.

We've got that story plus musicians against mandates,

but first, Merck to double production of breakthrough COVID pill

as nations line up to buy it.

Despite safety concerns raised by multiple scientists,

Merck is signing deals with countries left and right

for its new COVID therapeutic

malnupiravir. That sounds healthy already. As the pharmaceutical giant already planning to double

production of the drug in 2022 as experts expected to face the same kind of early days gold rush that greeted the approval

of the initial magajabs.

Merck said it aimed to increase its own production from 10 million courses of the drug this

year to at least 20 million next year, which would be equivalent to 800 million tablets.

But it could provide no guidance on the likely production schedule or pricing

for generic manufacturers, which will largely be responsible for supplying developing nations

with the treatments. We are doing the special purchase agreements as a sort of initial way

to get therapy to people as quickly as possible in certain countries. And there's a large

number of them that

we're working through, said Nicholas Kartzonis Merck's Senior Vice President of Clinical Research.

...