Pharmaceutical company Merck develops first pill against corona: risk of death appears to decrease by half

The pill, called Molnupiravir, is a so-called virus inhibitor that was originally developed against the flu virus. The American pharmaceutical company Merck, known in Europe as MSD, has also tested the pill in a series of clinical trials in people who had contracted the corona virus.

The latter trial involved 775 subjects, all of whom had mild or moderate symptoms. Half of them were given Molnupiravir, the other half a placebo. Of the subjects who received the real drug, 7.8 percent ended up in the hospital and no one died. Of the subjects who received a placebo, 14 percent ended up in the hospital and 8 died.

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