They will not replace the vaccine but could be a crucial tool in the fight against the pandemic. The first anti-Covid tablets arrive on the market: the United Kingdom on Thursday became the first country to authorize molnupiravir, a treatment by the American laboratory Merck. As Europe experiences a massive wave of contaminations, these pills, which can be taken with a simple glass of water, bring considerable hope to relieve hospital wards during the winter.
“This is a historic day for our country as the UK is now the first country in the world to approve an antiviral that can be taken at home against Covid-19,” said Health Minister Sajid Javid, in a statement. “This will be a game-changer for the most vulnerable and the immunocompromised, who will soon be able to receive the revolutionary treatment.”
For patients with mild to moderate Covid
Marketed under the name Lagevrio, molnupiravir has been cleared by the UK Medicines Agency, MHRA, for use in people with mild to moderate Covid who have at least one risk factor for developing severe disease ( obesity, over 60, diabetes, heart disease).
Health authorities recommend that it be taken “as soon as possible after a positive test,” said the Ministry of Health. Antivirals like molnupiravir work by decreasing the ability of a virus to replicate, thereby slowing down the disease. Their application can be twofold: both to allow people already affected not to suffer from serious symptoms, but also to those who have been in close contact not to develop the disease.
Administered to patients within days of a positive test, the treatment halves the risk of hospitalization, according to a clinical trial by Merck. The British government announced on October 20 that it had ordered 480,000 treatments of molnupiravir. He also signed a contract for 250,000 treatments of ritonavir, another antiviral from the Pfizer laboratory already used against HIV, whose effectiveness against Covid is the subject of clinical trials.
The vaccine, still necessary
The United Kingdom records a thousand hospitalizations per day and more than 9,000 patients are currently hospitalized with Covid-19. Even if it remains far from the peaks of the last waves, it raises fears of a difficult situation this winter.
Merck’s announcement of the results of molnupiravir clinical trials in early October was hailed as a major step towards reducing severe forms of the disease. But experts repeat that this treatment is not a miracle cure and that it should complement vaccines, not replace them.
The drug regulatory authorities in the United States and the European Union have initiated an evaluation of this drug. The European Medicines Agency says it is “ready to give advice to Member States” so that they can use the pill urgently, before a marketing authorization. Merck has already started large-scale production of molnupiravir and plans to manufacture the doses needed for 10 million treatments by the end of the year.
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