Merck’s antiviral COVID-19 pill approved by U.S. FDA for at-home use

Merck's drug, molnupiravir, developed with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, was shown to reduce hospitalizations and deaths by around 30 per cent.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday authorized Merck & Co’s antiviral pill for COVID-19, after giving the go-ahead to a similar treatment from Pfizer Inc. a day earlier.

Merck’s drug, molnupiravir, developed with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, was shown to reduce hospitalizations and deaths by around 30 per cent in a clinical trial of high-risk individuals early in the course of the illness.

The agency authorized the oral drug for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in adults who are at risk for severe disease, and for whom alternative COVID-19 treatments are not accessible or clinically appropriate.

The U.S. government has a contract to buy as many as five million courses of the drug for $700 per course.

The drug is not authorized for use in patients younger than 18 because molnupiravir may affect bone and cartilage growth, the FDA said in a statement.