MERCK’S ANTIVIRAL PILL TO TREAT COVID GIVEN GO-AHEAD FOR EMERGENCY USE IN EUROPE

Sat 20 November 2021:

Before the treatment’s formal approval across the EU, the European Union’s medicines watchdog has advised its member states that they can use a potentially revolutionary COVID-19 antiviral pill in emergency situations driven by rising infection rates.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said in a statement on Friday that molnupiravir, which is made by Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, can be administered within five days of first symptoms to individuals who do not require oxygen and are at risk of severe disease.

The EMA said it had issued its advice to support national authorities who may be keen to deploy the pill, to be branded Lagevrio in Europe, ahead of it gaining full authoristation from the regulator “in light of rising rates of infection and deaths due to COVID-19 across the EU”.

Coronavirus rates are currently on the rise in several European nations, including Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, and Hungary, prompting governments to reimpose virus restrictions in anticipation of a harsh winter.

Molnupiravir has been keenly monitored since research released last month revealed that if administered early in the illness, it could cut the risk of dying or being hospitalized among people most at risk of developing severe COVID-19.

The medicine, which is given twice a day for five days, is designed to create faults into the genetic code of the virus that causes COVID-19.

According to Merck, viral sequencing has demonstrated that it is effective against all variations of the coronavirus, including the highly contagious Delta strain.

The EMA’s decision comes after the United Kingdom, a former EU member, became the first country in the world to approve molnupiravir for usage in November.

According to clinical data, the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) recommended using the medicine as soon as feasible after a positive COVID-19 test and within five days of the commencement of symptoms.

(with agency)

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