A photo of the new pill, molnupiravir. All rights reserved by the subsidiary of the company.
The company is named as Merck & Co., Inc.
The second pill can be used to treat COVID-19 at home.
molnupiravir is taken twice a day for five days. The company says it will have 10 million packs available by the end of the month.
Since the only FDA-approved treatment for non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients is a monoclonal antibodies, these new pills could change how people treat COVID infections at home.
Pfizer's Paxlovid treatment was authorized by the agency on Wednesday.
The FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research said Thursday that the agency has authorized the use of a pill that can be taken without a prescription.
"Molnupiravir is a useful treatment option for some patients with COVID-19 who are at high risk of hospitalization or death because other FDA-authorized treatments are not clinically appropriate," she said.
The drug works by changing the genetic code of the virus to prevent it from replicating.
molnupiravir was not approved by the FDA for use in patients younger than 18.
The agency said that the medicine is not recommended for pregnant women because of animal studies. The FDA warned people who may become pregnant to use a reliable method of birth control while taking molnupiravir until four days after the final dose. Men who are sexually active with women who may become pregnant are advised to use birth control while taking molnupiravir and for at least three months after the final dose.
The pill is only available by prescription, and should be used within five days after a COVID-19 diagnosis, if you have mild-to-moderate disease, according to the FDA.
This story was originally published in the Morning Edition live blog.
