WASHINGTON D.C. (WBAP/KLIF News) – A second at-home antiviral pill to treat COVID-19 is headed to the American marketplace.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization for Merck’s drug molnupiravir on Thursday..
The drug is cleared for use in high-risk adults with mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms.
The pharmaceutical company said studies showed molnupiravir reduced the risk of hospitalization and death among high-risk COVID patients by 30%.
“Today’s authorization provides an additional treatment option against the COVID-19 virus in the form of a pill that can be taken orally. Molnupiravir is limited to situations where other FDA-authorized treatments for COVID-19 are inaccessible or are not clinically appropriate and will be a useful treatment option for some patients with COVID-19 with high risk of hospitalization or death,” said Patrizia Cavazzoni, M.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.
The efficacy rate is much lower than Pfizer’s antiviral pill Paxlovid, which FDA regulators granted clearance to on Wednesday.
Pfizer announced its studies showed Paxlovid reduced hospitalizations and death by almost 89% among high-risk adults when taken shortly after COVID-19 symptoms emerged.
As a result of molnupiravir’s low impact rate, the drug may play a smaller role than initially predicted, according to the Associated Press.
The drug will also carry strict safety warnings due to the risk of birth defects used during pregnancy.
This week, France canceled its order for Merck’s pill upon news of its 30% efficacy rate. The country is set to receive Pfizer’s Paxlovid before the end of January.
The news of a second at-home treatment comes as the omicron variant spreads rapidly across the United States.
Copyright 2021. WBAP/KLIF News. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.