The United Kingdom has become the first country in the world to approve a Covid-19 antiviral tablet. The drug, Molnupiravir, can be administered to patients who have tested Covid positive and have at least one risk factor for serious illness, such as obesity, old age, diabetes or heart disease.
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in the United Kingdom said that the medicine is safe and effective in decreasing the risk of hospitalisation and mortality in patients with mild to moderate Covid.
Molnupiravir is developed by the US drug companies Merck, Sharp and Dohme (MSD) and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics and it works by interfering with the virus’s replication. The pill prevents the virus from multiplying, which keeps its level in the body low and thus reduces the severity of the illness.
According to the MHRA, the medicine should be used as soon as possible after a positive Covid-19 test and during the first five days.
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In an effort to avoid having to impose tougher ‘Plan B’ restrictions in the coming months, the UK government is buying 730,000 courses of the treatments. Even if the daily rates of infection remain as high as they are now, ministers hope that if treatments can make Covid-19 a less lethal disease, it will reduce the burden on the NHS.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said: ‘This will be a gamechanger for the most vulnerable and the immunosuppressed, who will soon be able to receive the ground-breaking treatment’. He noted that the government is working at breakneck speed with the NHS to provide molnupiravir to patients as quickly as feasible.
Until today, the only treatment approved for Coronavirus was dexamethasone, a cheap steroid given to people who are severely ill and reduces the risk of death. More than one million lives have been saved since its efficacy was discovered in a British experiment.
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