Fri 01 October 2021:
Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics revealed on Friday that an oral antiviral treatment medication lowered the risk of hospitalization or death in COVID-19 patients by around 50%.
The Phase 3 trials, which involved 775 patients, provided “compelling findings,” according to the companies.
They said 7.3% of patients who received their drug named Molnupiravir were hospitalized within 29 days, compared to 14.1% of placebo-treated patients. No deaths were reported through day 29 in patients who received Molnupiravir, as compared to eight deaths in patients who received placebo, they added.
“More tools and treatments are urgently needed to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, which has become a leading cause of death and continues to profoundly affect patients, families, and societies and strain health care systems all around the world,” the US pharmaceutical company Merck and American biotechnology firm Ridgeback said in a joint statement.
Merck said it will submit an application to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) as soon as possible based on its findings, and it also plans to submit marketing applications to other regulatory bodies worldwide.
If approved, Merck said it expects to produce 10 million treatment courses by the end of 2021 and more doses in 2022.
Merck and the US government agreed in June to give 1.7 million Molnupiravir courses upon the issuance of an EUA or FDA approval.
According to the most recent data from Johns Hopkins University, the pandemic has claimed more than 4.7 million lives in at least 192 countries and regions since December 2019, with about 233.8 million cases reported. Data showed that vaccine doses administered totaled more than 6.24 billion.
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