'Zero Deaths' Oral COVID-19 Treatment Emerges Rapidly... Fauci "Reviewing Approval Swiftly"

Merck's Oral Pill Treatment Reduces Hospitalization by 50%
Costs 830,000 KRW per Patient in the US

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The oral COVID-19 treatment developed by the U.S. pharmaceutical company Merck has rapidly emerged as a 'game changer.'

On the 1st (local time), Merck announced that in a Phase 3 clinical trial involving 755 COVID-19 patients, there were no deaths among those treated with the oral antiviral drug 'Molnupiravir.'

Only 7.3% of patients who took Molnupiravir were hospitalized, and there were no deaths. In contrast, among those who took the placebo, the hospitalization rate was 14.1%, and there were 8 deaths.

Robert Davis, Merck's CEO, expressed confidence, saying, "Molnupiravir could become an important medicine in the global effort to fight the pandemic."

Merck plans to apply for emergency use authorization for Molnupiravir from the U.S. FDA. The U.S. authorities are also expected to approve its use quickly.

Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), said at the White House COVID-19 briefing that day, "This is very good news," and added, "The FDA will make a decision on Merck's emergency use authorization request as soon as possible."

If approved by the FDA, Molnupiravir will become the first oral COVID-19 pill treatment. U.S. pharmaceutical company Pfizer and Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche are also developing oral antiviral drugs for COVID-19 treatment.

Merck plans to produce enough doses to treat 10 million people by the end of this year. The company stated that it has contracted to supply 1.7 million treatment courses to the U.S. government and has reached similar agreements with other governments.

The price of the drug will be set differently based on each country's income level, with the U.S. price set at $700 (approximately 830,000 KRW) per treatment course.

Following the announcement of the interim clinical trial results, Merck's stock price surged 8.3% on the New York Stock Exchange. In contrast, vaccine companies Moderna and BioNTech saw their stock prices fall by 11.3% and 6.6%, respectively. Pfizer's stock price declined by only 0.2%.