Britain Gives Nod To Antiviral Covid-19 Drug Made By U.S.-Based Merck & Ridgeback Biotherapeutics

In Britain, the drug will be branded as Lagevrio, it will introduce errors into the genetic code of the virus that causes Covid-19 and is taken twice a day for five days.

The UK has granted conditional authorisation to Merck's coronavirus antiviral pill. (AFP Photo)

New Delhi: The United Kingdom is the first country that is going to approve a Covid-19 antiviral pill jointly developed by U.S.-based Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, this may potentially change the game in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

According to a Reuters report, this is the first oral antiviral treatment for Covid-19 to get approved ahead of potential U.S. regulatory clearance.

The clinical suggests a positive Covid-19 test and within five days of the onset of symptoms, soon after which Britain's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) recommended the drug, molnupiravir.

The U.S. advisers will meet this month to vote on whether molnupiravir should be authorized. Most medical researchers have mainly worked on vaccines to tackle the pandemic, which has killed more than 5.2 million people worldwide.

According to Reuters, Merck's Molnupiravir has been closely watched since data last month showed it could halve the chances of dying or being hospitalised for those most at risk of developing severe COVID-19 when given early in the illness.

In Britain, the drug will be branded as Lagevrio, it will introduce errors into the genetic code of the virus that causes Covid-19 and is taken twice a day for five days.

According to Reuters, Merck's Molnupiravir has watched closely since data last month showed it could halve the chances of dying or being hospitalised for those most at risk of developing severe COVID-19 when given early in the illness.

In Britain the drug will be branded as Lagevrio it will introduce errors into the genetic code of the virus that causes Covid-19 and is taken twice a day for five days, and in due course, the British government and NHS will confirm how the treatment will be deployed to patients. 

"We are working at pace across the government and with the NHS to set out plans to deploy molnupiravir to patients through a national study as soon as possible," health secretary Sajid Javid said in a statement reported Reuters.

The quick approval comes as a piece of good news because the cases have begun to sore and the government is struggling to control it, the report states about 40,000 daily cases of Covid-19, the latest seven-day average. The data which was released this week showed Covid-19 prevalence in England hit its highest level on record last month, mostly children and in the south-west region of the country.

Last month, Britain agreed to a deal with Merck to secure 480,000 courses of molnupiravir.

Merck said in a separate statement that it was expecting to produce 10 million courses of the treatment by the end of this year, with at least 20 million sets to be manufactured in 2022. The U.S. based drugmaker's shares were up 2.1% at $90.54 before the market opened.