Although vaccination programs are advancing in some countries over the world, it is still clear that as long as most of the global population is vaccinated, the virus will keep propagating and even mutating. Besides giving other countries access to vaccines, doctors and medical researchers have been working hard to create drugs to actually treat the disease and reduce its lethality.
This Friday, the US pharmaceutical companies Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics shared some great news. They announced in a statement that “molnupiravir reduced the risk of hospitalization or death by approximately 50%; 7.3% of patients who received molnupiravir were either hospitalized or died (…) compared with 14.1% of placebo-treated patients.”
Merck is seeking authorization for emergency use for molnupiravir from US federal regulators.
If authorized, the drug would be the first oral medication to treat Covid-19, the companies said.
“With these compelling results, we are optimistic that molnupiravir can become an important medicine as part of the global effort to fight the pandemic,” said Robert M. Davis, chief executive officer and president, Merck.
“With the virus continuing to circulate widely, and because therapeutic options currently available are infused and/or require access to a healthcare facility, antiviral treatments that can be taken at home to keep people with COVID-19 out of the hospital are critically needed,” said Wendy Holman, chief executive officer of Ridgeback Biotherapeutics.
“We are very encouraged by the results from the interim analysis and hope molnupiravir if authorized for use, can make a profound impact in controlling the pandemic,” she added. EFE
Text information and photos courtesy of EFE