Asian Tech Press (Nov 8) -- The South Korean government is reportedly negotiating with US-based Merck & Co., Inc., Pfizer Inc., and Switzerland's Roche Holding AG for the procurement of an additional 134,000 courses of COVID-19 pill.

According to a report by KBS World, a spokesperson for the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said Monday that the government has decided to pre-purchase 404,000 courses of COVID-19 pill and plans to receive it in batches from February next year.

It is reported that this is the first time the South Korean government announced the specific import schedule of antiviral pills.

The report said that the Korean government signed a purchase agreement with the U.S. company Merck in September for 200,000 courses and with Pfizer in October for 70,000 courses.

The government is also negotiating with Merck, Pfizer and Switzerland's Roche for the remaining 134,000 courses, and is expected to sign contracts this month.