Pfizer vs. Merck: A Look at the Two New Covid Pill Treatments
Photographer: Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg
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Pfizer Inc. released data on its experimental Covid pill Friday that suggest a potential challenge to molnupiravir, the drug from Merck & Co. and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics LP that’s already been cleared for use in the U.K.
While the Pfizer pill showed an 89% reduction in hospitalization or death in high-risk Covid-19-infected individuals, and Merck’s showed a 50% reduction, “we can’t yet compare the two until the risk profile of the patients is clearer,” according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Sam Fazeli.