The UK has become the first country to approve the use of a Covid antiviral pill.
The tablet, Molnupiravir, is the first pill designed to treat symptomatic Covid. It has proven to half the risk of hospitalization or death for half-risk patients.
It will be given twice daily to vulnerable patients who have been diagnosed with Covid. The pill is due for delivery from mid-November. Elderly Covid patients and patients with high vulnerabilities will be given priority.
The UK medicines regulator Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) became the first in the world to approve an antiviral pill, opening the door for tens of thousands of patients to receive treatment once the pill is stocked.
The pill was developed by US pharmaceutical giants Merck, Sharp and Dohme (MSD) and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics. MHRA said the drug was safe and effective at reducing the risk of hospitalization and death for those with mild to moderate Covid who are considered at risk for developing severe disease.
Last month, the UK government announced a deal to buy close to 500,000 doses of molnupiravir after clinical trials showed positive results. UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid called it a “historic day”.
The drug interferes with the virus’s ability to multiply and reach high enough levels in the respiratory system to cause severe disease or death.
Clinical trials of the drug on 775 patients found that 7.3 percent of those given the drug were hospitalized, compared to 14.1 percent of the patients who did not take the pill. There were zero deaths in the group that took the drug, and there were eight deaths in the group who did not take it.
Data shows the sooner you take the drug, the better its effects. An earlier study on patients who were already hospitalized for Covid shows disappointing results.
In the U.S., the drug has not yet gained approval. A FDA panel will review the drug later this month and make a recommendation.
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