Merck's MK-641/642
Executive Summary
Oral antibiotic MK-641/642 (fludalanine/pentizidone) is no longer being pursued by Merck. Senior VP Roy Vagelos, MD, told shareholders at the annual meeting that in Merck's "most recent clinical trials, terminated a few weeks ago, we found that, while the efficacy results supported the proposed broad spectrum antibacterial use, the safety margin is not as great as earlier studies had indicated, and therefore, the project has been dropped".