Merck Seeks Emergency Authorization of a COVID-19 Pill
Pharmaceutical company Merck on Friday said it will seek an emergency authorization for their oral antiviral COVID-19 treatment after the medicine was shown to reduce the risk of hospitalization by 50 percent during clinical trials.
An analysis of phase 3 trials found that 7.3 percent of patients treated with Merck’s drug, called molnupiravir, were hospitalized within 29 days, according to the company’s statement Friday. Of the study participants who received a placebo, 14.1 percent were hospitalized or died by the last day of the trial. No deaths were reported in patients who were given molnupiravir during the duration of the trial, while eight deaths were reported in those who were treated with placebos.
The drug was also proven to be consistently effective against all strains of COVID-19, including the highly contagious delta variant.
