Pharma giant Merck is applying for fast approval of a new drug the company says would be the first anti-viral pill to fight Covid. The drug is called molnupiravir, and it would be a much less expensive treatment for those already sick with the virus. The New York Times adds:
The Biden administration is preparing for an authorization that could come within weeks. If approved, the pill is likely to be allocated to states, as was the case with the vaccines. States could then distribute the pills how they wish, such as through pharmacies or doctors’ practices, senior administration officials said.
If the pill wins authorization, tens of millions of Americans will most likely be eligible to take it if they get sick with Covid — many more than the supply could cover, at least initially. The federal government has placed an advance order for enough pills for 1.7 million Americans, at a price of about $700 per patient. That is about one-third the price that the government is paying for the monoclonal antibody treatments, which are generally given via intravenous infusion.
NPR adds context:
An antiviral pill that people could take at home to reduce their symptoms and speed recovery could prove groundbreaking, easing the crushing caseload on U.S. hospitals and helping to curb outbreaks in poorer countries with weak health care systems. It would also bolster the two-pronged approach to the pandemic: treatment, by way of medication, and prevention, primarily through vaccinations.
In the first 29 days of the clinical trial, no deaths were reported among nearly 400 Covid patients who took the drug. The Intercept reports the drug is being bought by the federal government at a huge price increase over the cost of producing it.
