The US Food and Drug Administration on Thursday authorized Merck’s antiviral pill, molnupirvir, to treat Covid-19.
This is the second COVID-19 antiviral pill authorized for sick people to take at home before being admitted to hospital. On this authorization for the company, Merck has an agreement with the US government to supply 3.1 million courses of molupiravir.
The pill is directly authorized to treat mild to moderate coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in adults who have a positive SARS-CoV-2 viral test result, and who are at high risk for progression, an FDA news release said. are at risk. Huh. severe COVID-19, including hospitalization or death, and for whom FDA-authorized alternative COVID-19 treatment options are not available or medically appropriate.”
Molnupiravir was recommended in a 13-10 vote by FDA advisors in late November, when data showed it reduced the risk of hospitalization or death in high-risk adults by 30%. This was lower than an earlier analysis which suggests that this number may be around 50%.
Dr. Eliav Barr, senior vice president for global medical affairs at Merck, told CNN this month that he was optimistic the treatment would work against the Omicron variant.
“The Omicron variant differs from other types of COVID mainly on the spike protein. Our medicine works on a completely different part of the virus. So we’re very optimistic that the drug will continue to be effective against Omicron, and we’re still working on that study.”
Pfizer Pill: On Wednesday, the FDA official pfizer antiviral pill, paxlovid, for treatment COVID-19, the first antiviral COVID-19 pill authorized in the US for sick people to take home before they are hospitalized. High-risk individuals who are 12 years of age and older, weigh at least 88 pounds and have a positive SARS-CoV-2 test, are eligible for this treatment and will need to be prescribed by a doctor.
The pill “should be started as soon as possible after diagnosis of COVID-19 and within five days of symptom onset,” according to a FDA statement,
Read more about treatment:
,