Company claims that a pill can cut deaths by half in coronavirus patients.
Click to enlarge the image and toggle the caption Merck & Co. /AP Merck & Co. /AP
WASHINGTON Merck & Co. announced Friday that its COVID-19 experimental pill had reduced hospitalizations, and even deaths, by half for coronavirus infected people. It also said that it would soon request authorization from health officials around the globe.
Merck's drug, if approved, would be the first to treat COVID-19. This could represent a significant advance in efforts to combat the pandemic. All COVID-19 treatments now approved in the U.S. need to be administered intravenously or by injection.
Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, its partner, said that early results showed that patients who received the drug, molnupiravir (also known as molnupiravir), within five days of COVID-19 symptoms, had approximately half the death and hospitalization rates than patients who were given a placebo pill. Study included 775 people with moderate-to-severe COVID-19. These individuals were more at risk of severe illness due to their health conditions such as heart disease, obesity, or diabetes.
7.3% of patients who took molnupiravir died or were hospitalized after 30 days. This compares with 14.1% for those who took the dummy pills. According to Merck, there were no deaths in either the drug or placebo groups after this time. The company released the results and they have not been peer-reviewed. Merck stated that it will present the results at a future medical meeting.
A group of independent medical experts that was monitoring the trial recommended it be stopped early due to the strong interim results. According to company executives, they are currently in talks with the Food and Drug Administration and will submit the data for review within the next few days.
"It was more than I expected the drug to do in this clinical study," Dr. Dean Li, vice-president of Merck research, said. "A 50% decrease in death or hospitalization is a significant clinical impact.
Both groups reported side effects in the Merck trial. However, they were slightly more common in the group that took a dummy pill. The problem was not identified by the company.
An earlier study showed that the drug didn't benefit patients already in hospital with severe diseases.
The United States approved remdesivir as an antiviral drug for COVID-19. It also allowed the emergency use of three antibodies that aid the immune system to fight the virus. All drugs must be administered intravenously or by injection in hospitals and medical clinics. Supplies have been stretched due to the recent surge in the delta variant.
Experts in health, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S.'s top infectious disease expert, have long advocated for a convenient pill that patients can take when COVID-19 symptoms begin to appear. This would be similar to the decades-old flu medicine Tamiflu. These medications are key to preventing future outbreaks of infection and reducing the effects of the pandemic.
Merck's pill interferes with an enzyme that the coronavirus uses in order to copy its genetic code, reproduce itself and create new ones. Similar activity has been observed against other viruses.
If the FDA approves the drug, the U.S. government will purchase 1.7 million doses. Merck claims it can produce 10,000,000 doses of the drug by the end the year. It also has agreements with governments around the world. Prices have not been announced by the company.
Roche and Pfizer are also studying similar drugs and could report their results in the next weeks or months.
Merck had originally planned to enroll over 1,500 patients in its final-stage trial, but the independent board stopped it before it could be completed. Friday's results included patients from Latin America, Europe, and Africa. According to executives, 10% of the patients studied were American.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education provides support to the Associated Press Health and Science Department. All content is the sole responsibility of the Associated Press.
