The intense race among doctors, scientists, and pharmaceutical companies to develop an effective treatment for COVID-19 continues. In a recent development, experts announced that a pill developed by the American pharmaceutical company Merck represents a breakthrough in the treatment of the coronavirus due to its ability to reduce the likelihood of death or hospitalization by half for individuals most at risk of severe COVID-19 symptoms, according to Reuters.
If it receives the necessary approvals, Molnupiravir tablets, designed to introduce errors into the virus's genetic code, will be the first oral antiviral drug for the treatment of COVID-19. Merck and its partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutics plan to seek emergency use authorization in the United States as quickly as possible and submit applications to drug regulatory agencies worldwide.
Robert Davis, CEO of Merck, told Reuters that this treatment will fundamentally change the methods of controlling COVID-19. "The game will change," he stated.
Current treatment options include the antiviral remdesivir produced by Gilead and dexamethasone, a steroid; however, these are only administered after the patient has been hospitalized. Amish Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, confirmed that "the game will change due to the oral antivirals that can significantly affect the risk of hospitalization."
Adalja added that current treatments are "burdensome and logistically challenging," noting that taking a simple pill orally would be the opposite.
It is worth mentioning that due to positive results, Merck's shares rose by more than 9% at the beginning of trading in New York, and a phase three trial was stopped based on recommendations from external monitors. Meanwhile, shares of Pfizer fell by 3% and Moderna by 10%, both makers of COVID-19 vaccines, with Michael Yee, a biotechnology analyst at Jefferies, commenting that this indicates investors believe "people will become less fearful of COVID and less inclined to get vaccinated if there is a simple pill that can treat the disease."
