Britain became the first country in the world on Thursday to approve a potentially game-changing COVID-19 antiviral pill developed jointly by Merck & Co Inc and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, providing a boost to the fight against the pandemic.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) of the United Kingdom has recommended molnupiravir for use in people with mild to moderate COVID-19 and at least one risk factor for developing severe illness, such as obesity, older age diabetes or heart disease.
The pill, known as Lagevrio in the United Kingdom, is intended to introduce errors into the genetic code of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 and is taken twice a day for five days.
Merck, also known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, has stated that molnupiravir is safe in animal testing, but the results have not yet been made public.
Vaccines have been the primary focus of treatments to combat the pandemic, which has killed more than 5.2 million people worldwide. Other options, such as Gilead’s infused antiviral remdesivir and generic steroid dexamethasone, are typically administered only after a patient has been hospitalised.
Merck’s Molnupiravir has been closely watched, since data last month showed that when given early in the illness, it could halve the chances of dying or being hospitalised for those most at risk of developing severe COVID-19.
Professor Stephen Powis, national medical director for the National Health Service (NHS) in England, stated that the drug would be given to patients who were at a higher risk of complications as Britain prepares for one of the most difficult winters in history.
He added that if it is clinically and cost effective in reducing hospitalizations and deaths, a broader rollout will follow.
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