BREAKING: First pill for COVID-19 treatment shows strong evidence of efficacy, awaits FDA’s emergency authorization

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By Sahelian Times

 

The trial tracked 775 adults with mild to moderate Covid, who were considered higher risk for severe disease owing to health problems such as obesity, diabetes or heart disease. Half were given a five-day course of the pill, called molnupiravir, which comes in the form of small brown capsules taken twice a day.

 

Fifty-three patients (14%) in the placebo group were hospitalised, compared with only 28 (7%) of those who received the drug. There were no deaths in the drug group after that time period, compared with eight deaths in the placebo group, according to Merck.

 

“At the interim analysis, molnupiravir reduced the risk of hospitalization or death by approximately 50%,” Merck said in a news release. “7.3% of patients who received molnupiravir were either hospitalized or died through Day 29 following randomization (28/385), compared with 14.1% of placebo treated patients (53,377). Through Day 29, no deaths were reported in patients who received molnupiravir, as compared to 8 deaths in patients who received placebo.”

 

Source: Guardian and CNN

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