Britain Approves First COVID-19 Pill

Britain became the first country in the world Thursday to approve of a COVID-19 antiviral pill jointly developed by U.S.-based pharmaceutical company Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics. The drug, known as molnupiravir, will be the first oral antiviral treatment for COVID-19.

The pill is to be administered immediately following a positive COVID-19 test and within five days of experiencing symptoms, according to clinical data. Britain’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) recommends it be used by people experiencing mild to moderate COVID-19 and at least one risk factor for serious illness. Factors include obesity, older-aged diabetes and heart disease.

Molnupiravir is designed to sabotage the genetic coding of COVID-19 and is meant to be taken twice a day for five days. Studies done on the drug have shown it could half the chances of dying or being hospitalized for those most at risk of severe COVID-19 when given early enough in the illness.

“We are now working across government and the NHS to urgently get this treatment to patients initially through a national study so we can collect more data on how antivirals work in a mostly vaccinated population,” UK vaccines minister Maggie Throup told parliament.

Containing COVID-19

Merck pharmaceutical building. Britain approved a COVID-19 antiviral pill developed by Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics on Thursday.

The decision to approve the treatment comes as Britain struggles to contain COVID-19 infections within its population. The country is averaging 40,000 new cases a week, second only to the 74,000 weekly infections in the much more populated United States. Among the most affected are children and residents in the southwestern region of the country.

Britain last month reached a deal with Merck to secure 480,000 courses of molnupiravir. Merck has said it plans to produce 10 million courses of the drug by the end of the year, with at least 20 million also to be manufactured in 2022.

Studies are still being conducted on molnupiravir, particularly a late-stage trial on its ability to prevent infection. It is unclear when Merck will deliver the doses to Britain, but the company is engaged with generic drugmakers about expanding manufacturing licenses to build up ample supply.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has killed more than 5.02 million people worldwide.