Merck’s Covid Pill Can Be Used to Treat Adults, EU Regulator Says

19 Nov 2021, 10:18 PM IST

(Bloomberg) -- Merck & Co.’s antiviral pill for Covid-19 can be used to treat adults in the European Union, the bloc’s drug regulator said, giving countries another weapon to use as a fourth wave of the pandemic sweeps the continent.

Merck’s Lagevrio pill, known generically as molnupiravir, is still under review and hasn’t been formally authorized for sale. But until then, it can be used to treat adults who don’t need oxygen therapy and face an increased risk of developing severe Covid, the European Medicines Agency’s human medicines committee said on Friday.

National authorities may decide to use the pill in emergency settings “in light of rising rates of infection and deaths due to Covid-19 across the EU,” the regulator said. Austria imposed a nationwide lockdown on Friday, and German authorities said they wouldn’t rule out a similar move, as cases rise and intensive care facilities fill up.

On Nov. 4, the U.K. medicines authority became the first in the world to approve Merck’s drug, developed together with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics LP, which works by inducing errors in viral genes. Merck also sought emergency use authorization for molnupiravir in the U.S. in October, where the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is scheduled to hold a hearing on it on Nov. 30.

The treatment was hailed as a breakthrough and sparked hope about the course of the pandemic after early studies showed it has the potential to cut the rate of hospitalization and death by about 50% in mild to moderate Covid patients. It is likely also to be useful for the developing world, where vaccinations have been lagging, thanks to its low cost and simple production.

Another antiviral pill from Pfizer Inc., called Paxlovid, reduced hospitalization and death among high-risk patients by 89%. The EMA started a review of that pill on Friday to help decide whether it, too, can be used in emergency settings before it’s formally authorized for the market.