Merck and Co Inc said its Molnupiravir antiviral pill was authorised for emergency use by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating high-risk adults with mild to moderate coronavirus (COVID-19).
The drug has been shown in clinical trials to reduce hospitalisations and deaths by around 30%.
The news comes days after the FDA authorised Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE)’s antiviral pill Paxlovid for the treatment of COVID-19.
Molnupiravir, which Merck developed in collaboration with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, has been granted Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) to treat adults over the age of the age of 18 who tested positive for COVID-19 and who are at high risk for progression to severe disease, including hospitalisation or death, Merck said in a statement.
Patients should start taking Molnupiravir as soon as possible after a diagnosis of COVID-19, and within five days of symptom onset, it said. The recommended dose for Molnupiravir is 800 mg (four 200 mg capsules) taken orally every 12 hours for five days.
“Based on the strong science behind molnupiravir – a single oral medicine that interrupts replication of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, with data demonstrating a significant reduction in the risk of hospitalisations and deaths – Molnupiravir has the potential to become an important tool for healthcare professionals and appropriate patients,” said Merck president, Dr Dean Y. Li.
Merck has an agreement to supply 3.1 million courses of Molnupiravir to the US government. It said it will begin shipping the drug within days.