Merck & Co said on Wednesday it would supply about 60,000–100,000 doses of its experimental COVID-19 treatment to the U.S. government for up to about $356 million. The agreement will help support advanced development and large-scale manufacturing of the company’s investigational therapeutic MK-7110 to treat hospitalized patients with severe or critical COVID-19, the U.S. Department of the Health and Human Services said. The funding allows for the development of MK-7110, including completing activities required to request emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and for delivery of up to 100,000 doses by June 30, 2021. Merck has built out its portfolio of COVID-19 treatments through a series of deals in recent months, including the acquisition of drugmaker Themis and a partnership with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics LP. The company in November agreed to buy OncoImmune in a $425 million deal that gave it control of MK-7110, a promising first-in-class …