Molnupiravir: First pill to treat Covid gets approval in UK
Molnupiravir is the first pill designed to treat symptomatic Covid that has been approved by the UK medicines regulator. It will be given twice a day to vulnerable patients recently diagnosed with the disease. In clinical trials the pill cut the risk of hospitalisation or death by about half. Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the treatment was a "gamechanger" for the most frail and immunosuppressed. In a statement he said: "Today is a historic day for our country, as the UK is now the first country in the world to approve an antiviral that can be taken at home for Covid."
Molnupiravir, developed by the drug companies Merck, Sharp and Dohme (MSD) and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, is the first antiviral medication for Covid which can be taken as a pill rather than injected or given intravenously.
The UK has agreed to purchase 480,000 courses with the first deliveries expected in November. Initially it will be given to both vaccinated and unvaccinated patients through a national study, with extra data on its effectiveness collected before any decision to order more. The drug needs to be given within five days of symptoms developing to be most effective.
The new treatment targets an enzyme that the virus uses to make copies of itself, introducing errors into its genetic code. That should prevent it from multiplying, so keeping virus levels low in the body and reducing the severity of the disease. Merck said that approach should make the treatment equally effective against new variants of the virus in the future.
Other countries including Australia, Singapore and South Korea have also made purchase agreements. Merck is the first company to report trial results of a pill to treat Covid, but other companies are working on similar treatments. Its rival Pfizer has started trials of two different antiviral tablets, while Swiss company Roche is working on a similar medication.