Molnupiravir
UK becomes first country to approve Merck's Covid-19 pill molnupiravir: Report
London/IBNS: Britain on Thursday became the first country to approve COVID-19 antiviral pill jointly developed by U.S.-based Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, media reports said.
Britain's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) recommended the drug, molnupiravir, considered a potential game-changer in the the fight against the pandemic.
The antiviral treatment for COVID-19 is the first oral pill to get the UK drug regulator's approval even before U.S. regulatory clearance.
US panel tasked with clearing the medicine will meet this month to vote on whether molnupiravir should be authorised, Reuters reported.
Also read: Five Pharma majors to collab for clinical trial of Molnupiravir drug
Data last month showed the medicine could halve the chances of dying or being hospitalised in for those at risk of developing severe symptoms when given early in the illness, according to the Reuters report.
The drug will be branded Lagevrio in Britain, is designed to introduce errors into the genetic code of the virus that causes COVID-19 and is taken twice a day for five days, Reuters reported.
"We are working at pace across the government and with the NHS to set out plans to deploy molnupiravir to patients through a national study as soon as possible," health secretary Sajid Javid said in a statement.
UK has about 40,000 daily cases of COVID-19, according to the latest seven-day average. That total is second only to the roughly 74,000 a day in the United States, which has five times more people.
Last month, Britain agreed a deal with Merck to secure 480,000 courses of molnupiravir.
Viral sequencing done so far has shown molnupiravir is effective against all variants of the coronavirus, Merck has said, including the more-infectious Delta, which is responsible for the worldwide surge in hospitalizations and deaths recently, Reuters.
Merck is also in talks with generic drugmakers about expanding manufacturing licences to build supply of the treatment.
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