Nevertheless, Merck is down in Friday afternoon trading. Merck's new treatment, molnupiravir—more commonly known by its brand name Lagevrio—landed a kind of emergency use authorization from the National Medical Products Administration in China. The authorization comes with a wide range of conditions, though; Merck will have to carry on with its research and submit its findings as they're available. This is the second foreign treatment that China has turned to in order to address its surging case numbers; a few months back, China gave a fuller nod to Pfizer ( NYSE:PFE ) and its Paxlovid treatment.