US pharmaceutical giant Merck said on Tuesday that it expected its antiviral pill to show similar activity against any new Covid-19 variant, including Omicron, according to Reuters. The company's remarks come after the Regeneron CEO said live on CNBC earlier in the session that he thought Merck's pill would no longer work. 

Market Reaction

Markets do not seem to have reacted to the latest headlines much. Merck's pill does not yet form an important part of the global prevention/Covid-19 treatment regime. Markets are more sensitive right now to headlines about vaccine efficacy, the transmissibility of Omicron and the severity of illness when infect by the new variant.