The British authorities has given the first approval to Merck’s pill against Covid-19, a drug that has been described by public health experts as an important new tool in the fight against coronavirus.
In particular, Merck said the Drugs and Health Products Regulatory Authority had licensed a drug called Lagevrio for mild to moderate Covid symptoms.
This is the first “green light” given to molnupiravir, an easy-to-administer treatment that has halved the risk of hospitalization or death from Covid-19 for people with mild to moderate symptoms during clinical trials.
Regulators in the US and EU are still evaluating Merck’s drug, for which orders from governments have increased since the positive results of phase 3 clinical trials were announced last month.
