Merck Anti-Viral Pill Shows Promise in Reducing COVID-19 Viral Levels

An early analysis of the experimental COVID-19 drug, which claims to be a kind of Tamiflu for the pandemic, yielded promising findings.

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DULUTH, GA - JULY 9: A Merck & Co. sign sits in front of a Georgia facility on July 9, 2002, in Duluth, Georgia. Merck is expected to proceed with the twice-delayed IPO of Merck-Medco this week despite a record of more than $12.4 billion in revenue over the past three years from its pharmacy benefits unit. The money in question, co-payments paid by consumers to their retail pharmacy, was never collected. The pharmacy keeps the co-payment.

The pill, which Ridgeback Biotherapeutics LP and Merck are manufacturing, greatly decreased infectious virus among subjects in a mid-stage trial after five days of therapy. Ridgeback presented the findings at a Saturday simulated conference of infectious-disease experts.

Researchers are still studying the experimental antiviral drug further. If it helps patients with COVID-19 who have signs, the drug will add to an otherwise small therapeutic arsenal and will be the first oral antiviral against the virus.

Miami Herald said Remdesivir, a medication administered through the veins and confined to admitted COVID-19 patients aged 12 and up, is the only coronavirus pill approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.

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According to some infectious-disease researchers, the new drug named molnupiravir could play a key role in treating sick people at home. They said it works similarly to how Tamiflu helps people with the flu.

Fox News said molnupiravir is usually taken as soon as someone tests positive for COVID-19, thereby stopping the virus from spreading and alleviate coronavirus symptoms.

Unlike other medications that target the spike protein protruding from the virus's surface, Merck's anti-COVID-19 pill targets a part of the virus that aids in its reproduction.

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Wayne Holman, a co-founder of Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, said the findings show that the medication stops the current coronavirus from replicating in the body. He claimed the pharmaceutical company's study shows the first evidence that an oral antiviral drug may be successful against the virus.

According to Dr. Holman, the results also indicate, but may not confirm, that the drug will alleviate disease, who is also the CEO of the investment company Ridgeback Capital. Ridgeback Biotherapeutics has an Ebola vaccine that has been accepted.

Merck expects interim findings from two late-stage trials looking at whether molnupiravir would help avoid COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths by the end of this month.

"We continue to make progress in our Phase 2/3 clinical programs evaluating molnupiravir in both outpatient and hospital settings and plan to provide updates when appropriate," said Dr. Roy Baynes, senior vice president and head of global clinical development, chief medical officer of Merck Research Laboratories.

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William Fischer, Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, said in a Reuters report that the study's secondary objective results are encouraging. He also noted a faster decrease in the infectious virus in people with early COVID-19 treated with molnupiravir.

Dr. Carl Dieffenbach, head of the Division of AIDS at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told The Wall Street Journal that the findings are compelling and fascinating. He did claim, however, that the analysis was not entirely complete. Dieffenbach, who is not part of the research, said researchers must also confirm its clinical benefit.

Dr. Marc Siegel, an American physician and professor of Medicine at the NYU Langone Medical Center told "Fox and Friends" on Sunday that the drug could be the "holy grail" of the COVID-19 pandemic and that it could be on the market in four or five months.