On Thursday, the United Kingdom became the first country to greenlight the Molnupiravir pill against Covid-19, which halves the risk of hospitalisation or death, developed by Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics.
The UK is the first country to decide that the new antiviral drug, Molnupiravir, can be sold and used as a pill that Covid-19 patients can take at home.
"[The drug] can be taken in the comfort of people's own homes," confirmed UK Secretary of State for Health Sajid Javid in a video on Twitter.
BREAKING NEWS:
The UK has become the first country in the world to approve a COVID-19 antiviral - @MSDintheUK's #molnupiravir. Great news from the @MHRAgovuk which will benefit the country's most vulnerable - we're now working at pace to deploy it to patients. pic.twitter.com/FCMRkMiUP9 — Sajid Javid (@sajidjavid) November 4, 2021
In clinical trials, the pill reduced the risk of hospitalisation or death for patients already infected with Covid-19 by 50%, which vice president of Merck research, Dr. Dean Li, said "exceeded expectations."
Currently, Molnupiravir is intended for vulnerable people who are experiencing mild to moderate Covid-19 symptoms and also have at least one other risk factor, such as obesity, heart problems or older age (over-60s).
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The drug works by interfering with the virus’ replication, which prevents it from multiplying and keeps virus levels low in the body, meaning it reduces the severity of the disease, according to a press release by the UK government.
It is recommended that patients start treatment quickly, within five days of the first symptoms.
"This treatment has been approved as safe and effective by our independent regulator, the MHRA, after a rigorous assessment process," Javid stressed.
The British government has ordered 500,000 treatments of the drug, which is sold under the brand name Lagevrio. The United States, Australia, Singapore and South Korea have also already placed orders.
Other pharmaceutical companies, such as Pfizer and the Swiss company Roche, are also working on similar anti-viral pills against Covid-19.
