Molnupiravir.Photo: HANDOUT/Merck & Co,Inc./AFP via Getty
The drug, called molnupiravir, was so successful in clinical trials that an independent board of experts recommended ending the study early in the hopes of getting it to patients as soon as possible.
Mercksaid in a press releasethat they will apply for emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration as soon as they can.
The study has not yet been peer reviewed or published.
Molnupiravir would be the first antiviral pillto treat COVID-19, and would be given twice a day for five days to patients diagnosed with the virus. Currently, theonly approved treatment for COVID-19 is remdesivir, which is given through an IV to patients in a hospital and not used in all cases. Two other companies are also developing antiviral pills and are expected to share study data in the coming weeks.
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“We always believed antivirals, especially an oral antiviral, would be an important contribution to the pandemic,” Daria Hazuda, vice president of infectious diseases and vaccine discovery at Merck,toldThe Washington Post. “Keeping people out of the hospital is incredibly important, given the emergence of variants and the continued evolution of the virus.”
Molnupiravir would act as a treatment if a person contracts COVID-19, but the best method of prevention is still a vaccine. An increase in vaccine mandates has improved the vaccination rate in the U.S., but there are still large portions of the country that have yet to start their inoculations. As of Oct. 1, 64.6% of Americans have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 55.6% are fully vaccinated. Among those who are eligible, people aged 12 and up, 75.5% have received at least one dose and 65.1% are fully vaccinated.
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source: people.com
