Merck’s Covid Drug Will Do for Now, Just in Time for Omicron
Molnupiravir has drawbacks, but new antivirals can give vulnerable people a much better chance of avoiding serious illness, especially with omicron lurking.
FDA approved.
Source: Merck & Co.
If vaccines are the bazookas in the fight against SARS-CoV-2, antiviral drugs could be the artillery that helps save lives, especially among those who have a higher risk of developing serious illness. Now that they’ve arrived, health authorities have to decide how best to deploy them.
Last month, the U.K. became the first country to approve molnupiravir, a treatment for Covid-19 produced by Ridgeback Biotherapeutics and Merck & Co. On Tuesday, an advisory panel convened by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration voted in favor of allowing emergency use authorization of the antiviral drug, too. But between these two approvals, Merck released some data showing the drug has a lower efficacy level than initially thought, and is much lower than a rival drug by Pfizer, which is also applying for emergency-use authorization.