Merck has struck a manufacturing pact with Thermo Fisher Scientific to produce its experimental COVID-19 antiviral, molnupiravir, at its Whitby, Ontario, plant in Canada.

Thermo Fisher will produce the pill for shipments to Canada, the UK and the EU in addition to parts of Asia and Latin America.

Merck has also inked a supply agreement with the Canadian government for 500,000 treatment courses in 2022, with options for an additional 500,000 pending authorization.

Merck and the U.S. government previously forged agreements for 3.1 million treatment courses of molnupiravir for approximately $2.2 billion through early 2022.

An FDA advisory committee last week narrowly backed an Emergency Use Authorization for molnupiravir, but the agency has yet to authorize the pill.