“This is our major asset”: the first oral treatment against Covid-19 in Japan for the end of the year

On Wednesday, November 10, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio explained at a press conference that he intended to market a drug to treat Covid-19 by the end of the year. It will be the first oral anti-coronavirus treatment in Japan.

“This is our major asset,” he said.

About 1.6 million doses of molnupiravir, manufactured by the US laboratory Merck & Co., will be made available to hospitals across the country once approved by the Ministry of Health.

An agreement for the supply of additional lots has already been concluded.

Clinical trials conducted in Japan and the United States with molnupiravir have shown that the risk of developing a severe form leading to hospitalization or death in patients with mild or moderate Covid-19 is halved. No death was also recorded after following the treatment.

Molnupiravir pills

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]

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