A New Weapon Against Coronavirus?

Merck Announces Successful Trial of a Pill to Combat COVID-19

A new antiviral developed at Drug Innovations at Emory (University) with pharmaceutical giant Merck & Company and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, a Florida company, awaits approvals, but it holds promise as the first COVID treatment in pill form. | Credit: Courtesy of Merck & Co.

A drug in clinical trials has proved so successful against COVID-19 that manufacturer Merck & Company is planning to apply soon to the Food and Drug Administration for an emergency use authorization.

Already, the United States has options for 1.7 million courses of the drug — molnupiravir — which comes in a pill, and the pharmaceutical giant states it can supply 10 million doses by year’s end. Merck’s announcement added that it had licensed the drug with generic manufacturers so it becomes available sooner in low- and middle-income countries once authorized. Dr. David Fisk of Sansum Clinic told the Independent, “A lot remains to be learned from the current trial they’re announcing, but this is certainly welcome news with encouraging early data.”

Dr. David Fisk | Credit: Daniel Dreyfuss (file}

Results from 775 people involved in the trial, which started August 5, were announced by Merck on October 1. Participants had to be in their first five days of mild to moderate COVID symptoms, were unvaccinated, and were given either pills containing the drug or placebo pills. In the first 29 days, half as many in the molnupiravir group were hospitalized or died, compared to the placebo group — 7.3 percent compared to 14.1 percent. Further, eight deaths occurred in the placebo group, and none in the molnupiravir group, which prompted independent monitors to advise halting the trial.