Finally, there’s a pill to treat Covid-19. Pharma major Merck has developed a drug that can reduce hospitalizations and fatalities by half, though the trial data is yet to be vetted by outside experts. It plans to approach the FDA and similar authorities in other nations for emergency-use authorization. The administration has already committed to buy it if the FDA gives a green signal. Experts insist the new discovery must not mean vaccination is optional now.

In the trial, 775 adults with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 were given the tablet, ‘molnupiravir’: https://www.merck.com/news/merck-and-ridgebacks-investigational-oral-antiviral-molnupiravir-reduced-the-risk-of-hospitalization-or-death-by-approximately-50-percent-compared-to-placebo-for-patients-with-mild-or-moderat/

It worked wonders if given within five days of the onset of symptoms. The results were so good that independent experts monitoring the study recommended wrapping it up before time. The tablet, like other antivirals, targets the coronavirus’s ability to copy its genetic code and reproduce itself. It is not effective when the disease is severe, because all antivirals fail once the virus has reached a critical mass.

The patients in the trial were un-vaccinated, but experts say the drug must not be seen as an alternative to the vaccine but as a complement. The new medicine aims to cure the disease in an individual, while the vaccines are needed to stop the spread of the virus and thus prevent the disease at large. The difference is between preventing the infection and treating it when it happens.

Experts foresee the vaccine plus drug combination as the best defense against the coronavirus in the near-future. The administration may authorize ‘molnupiravir’ for those who are vaccinated and suffer from a breakthrough.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top official on infectious diseases, called this “very good news,” because the medications currently used to treat Covid-19 are all originally meant for something else and repurposed for this disease, whereas ‘molnupiravir’ would be the first meant for Covid-19 itself. The current medications are all in the form of injections, whereas an oral medicine would make home-based treatment convenient. The patient is expected to take four pills twice a day for five days. Pfizer and Roche and other pharma companies have also been working on similar drugs.

Also read:

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/01/merck-to-seek-emergency-authorization-for-oral-covid-19-treatment.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/01/business/covid-antiviral-pill-merck.html

https://apnews.com/article/merck-says-experimental-covid-pill-cuts-worst-effects-a9a2245fdcee324f6bbd776a0fffcc60

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-58764440