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Covid-19 antiviral pills show promise, but will they be game changers?
- Encouraging interim results have been announced for two oral drugs, with Merck’s approved for use in Britain this month
- Experts say they could have a significant impact on the pandemic, but a lot will depend on how well they work in the real world
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The global battle against Covid-19 may be on the verge of getting a game-changing new weapon: virus-fighting pills. But questions remain on how well these up-and-coming treatments will work in the real world, and what their impact on the pandemic will be.
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Hundreds of Covid-19 treatments are currently in development, but in recent weeks major pharmaceutical firms have announced promising results for two oral pills, paving the way for their potential widespread use.
Early this month, a drug from US company Merck became the world’s first oral pill approved for Covid-19 after Britain recommended it for use in people with mild to moderate disease and at least one risk factor for developing severe illness.
The green light for the drug known as molnupiravir, or Lagevrio – which Merck and its partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutics said reduced the risk of hospitalisation or death for such patients by around 50 per cent – came a day before US company Pfizer released findings for its own pill.
That one, called Paxlovid, reduced the risk of hospitalisation or death by 89 per cent for non-hospitalised high-risk adults with Covid-19, the company said. Detailed or peer-reviewed clinical trial results have yet to be released for either pill – both companies cited interim results.
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The two drug makers are seeking authorisation in the United States, with plans to make the drugs available globally subject to national approvals. Countries around the world have already been queuing up for a chance to buy or manufacture the pills.
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