Merck’s COVID pill shows lower efficacy in the updated study Coronavirus pandemic News

Drugmaker says a recent analysis of the trial results showed that molnupiravir led to a 30 percent reduction in hospitalizations and deaths, compared to a 50 percent reduction in the preliminary study.

Merck drug addict COVID-19 experimental pill It is much more effective than previously reported in reducing hospitalizations and deaths, the company said after publishing a full analysis of the test results.

The U.S. company said on Friday that the oral drug molnupiravir reduces hospitalizations and deaths by 30 percent compared to placebo, based on data from more than 1,400 patients.

Last month, the company said data from 775 patients showed that the reduction was “approximately” 50 percent.

In the updated data, one death was reported in the molnupiravir arm of the study, nine in the placebo group.

Merck applied for a US molnupiravir permit on October 11, according to provisional data.

The full analysis was released before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a series of documents on Friday to discuss whether to recommend the pill to a panel of outside experts who will meet Tuesday.

Agency staff did not make their own recommendations as to whether the pill should be approved.

FDA staff have asked the panel to discuss whether the benefits of the drug outweigh the risks and limit the population that should allow the drug.

They also asked the commission to study whether the medication could encourage the virus to mutate and how these concerns could be alleviated.

Shares of Merck fell nearly 3 percent to $ 80 in pre-market trading amid a general decline in the stock market as a result of a new one. a new variant of coronavirus.

Pills like Molnupiravir and paxlovid, an antidepressant drug being developed by Pfizer, have been reported as a potential game changer because they can be considered as early home treatment to prevent hospitalizations and deaths.

Data Pfizer’s pill, After an analysis of a study of 1,200 participants, showed that the risk of hospitalization or death associated with coronavirus was reduced by 89 percent compared with placebo.

The two experimental drugs have different mechanisms of action. It is designed to incorporate errors into Merck’s virus genetic code. Pfizer’s drug, part of a class known as a protease inhibitor, is designed to block an enzyme that needs to be multiplied by the coronavirus.

Last week, the European Union’s caretaker of medicines he advised his Member States Merck’s COVID-19 virus pill can be used in emergencies caused by rising infection rates, prior to formal approval of treatment.

The United Kingdom conditionally approved molnupiravir, under the name Lagevrio, earlier this month.