Merck Announces Its COVID-19 Pill Reduces Deaths And Hospitalizations By 50%

The pharmaceutical company Merck indicated this Friday that its oral treatment has reduced by around 50% the risk of hospitalization or death in patients with COVID-19, based on the results of a clinical study.

After the Molnupiravir pill showed “convincing results” in a clinical trial, Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, which developed the drug, announced that they will apply for one from the United States and request marketing permits from other regulatory agencies around the world.

In its announcement, Merck indicated that the interim analysis of the results in the use of the compound that received the drug was hospitalized within 29 days.

Within 29 days of the trial, 14.1% of patients who received a placebo,

There were no deaths among the patients who received Molnupiravir, while eight patients in the group that received a placebo died.

“If licensed, Molnupiravir could be the first oral antiviral drug for COVID-19.”added the signature.

and it works by inhibiting the coronavirus from replicating within the body.

“More tools and treatments are urgently needed to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, which has become the leading cause of death and continues to deeply affect patients, families and societies,” Robert Davis, president of Merck, said in a statement.

”With these impressive results, we are optimistic that in an important drug as part of the global effort to fight the pandemic “added.

All 775 participants in the trial had laboratory-confirmed, symptomatic COVID-19, and were randomly assigned to administer molnupiravir or placebo within five days of symptom onset.

The report further noted that all of the participants had not received COVID-19 vaccines and had at least one underlying condition that put them at greater risk of developing a more severe case of the disease.

Molnupiravir, one of several oral covid drugs being developed, seeks to prevent the virus from replicating.

Agencies

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