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news: A team from the US Food and Drug Administration voted 13 to 10 to recommend that the government authorize Merck’s antiviral drugs for high-risk covid-19 patients. The drug, called molnupiravir, has been shown to reduce the risk of hospitalization and death, although it is lower than previously thought. Preliminary results in October found that when given to 755 unvaccinated high-risk volunteers, it can reduce the risk of hospitalization or death by 50%. Last week, based on the latest data from 1,433 patients, that number dropped to 30%. “The efficacy of this product is not particularly good,” said team member David Hardy.
Lack of consensus: The closeness of the vote is due to concerns about changes in drug efficacy data, but also concerns about its safety. James Hildreth, CEO of Mehari School of Medicine and one of the panelists said, Said He voted against it because he feared that, theoretically, the use of molnupiravir might lead to a new variant of covid-19.other team memberHowever, the overall risk is considered small enough to be voted through.
Who can accept: If authorized, the drug will be prescribed to people at high risk of severe covid-19, taking it twice a day for five days. Tens of millions of elderly people or Americans with underlying medical conditions are eligible, and they need to start taking it within five days of the onset of symptoms. Taking into account concerns about potential side effects, the committee recommends strict restrictions on the use of monelavir in pregnant women.
What’s next: In the next few weeks, the FDA will evaluate a similar pill from Pfizer that appears to be much more effective than Merck’s, reducing the risk of hospitalization or death in the same patient group by 89%. It is hoped that these drugs can provide our arsenal of new coronaviruses with promising new weapons, especially because they are easy to store and can be carried at home. The US government has spent billions of dollars to ensure a large supply of these two new drugs.
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