On Jul. 1, 2020, Merck and and and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics announced that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) granted early termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act. All closing requirements have been completed for the previously announced partnership transaction to advance the development of EIDD-2801, an investigational orally-available antiviral agent currently in early clinical development for the treatment of patients with COVID-19.