UK Approves Merck’s COVID-19 Pill

The United Kingdom announced on Thursday that it is the first country in the world to authorize molnupiravir, the tablet treatment against COVID-19 developed by the US laboratory Merck.

“Today is a historic day for our country, because the United Kingdom is now the first country in the world to approve an antiviral against Covid-19 that can be taken at home”said Health Minister Sajid Javid in a statement.

“This will change the situation for the most vulnerable and the immunosuppressed, who will soon be able to receive the revolutionary treatment”added.

The molnupiravir was authorized by the British regulator, the MHRA, for people suffering from a coronavirus mild or moderate and have at least one risk factor for developing the disease seriously (obesity, age over 60 years, diabetes or heart disease).

Antivirals, such as molnupiravir, act by reducing the ability of the virus to reproduce, thus slowing down the disease.

The use of this drug can be twofold: both to prevent those infected from suffering serious symptoms, and to prevent those who have been in close contact from developing the disease.

If administered to patients in the days after a positive diagnostic test, it reduces the chances of hospitalization by 50%, according to a clinical trial conducted by Merck.

The British government registers one of the most serious balances in the world in contagions by covid-19 and announced in October that it had ordered 480,000 treatments of molnupiravir.

The United Kingdom counts more than 140,000 deaths from coronavirus and currently records an increase in cases, with about 1,000 hospitalizations a day. Although these figures are lower than those recorded at the peak of the pandemic, the authorities fear that the health situation will worsen with the arrival of winter.