Since the outbreak of COVID-19, about two years have passed. Globally, there have been various efforts to prevent infections. Many countries have relied on vaccinations to form nationwide herd immunity. Now, pharmaceutical companies are devoted to developing oral antiviral medicines.
Molnupiravir, jointly developed by Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, is drawing public attention. Merck announced the results of clinical trials that proved its effectiveness. They gathered 775 patients infected with COVID-19 and asked 385 to take the pill while the rest were given a placebo. Over 29 days, the hospitalization rate of placebo-treated patients was 14.1%, and eight deaths occurred. On the other hand, the Molnupiravir hospitalization rate was 7.3%, and there were no deaths. Based on these findings, Merck applied for emergency use authorization to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last October.
However, this is not a panacea for all of the problems. Even if Molnupiravir is approved for emergency use, the price is expected to be very high compared to the vaccine. Also, it is not a fundamental solution to the pandemic. Jeffery Duston Zients, White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator, also emphasized that vaccination is the most important thing.
The United States has already ordered 1.7 million courses of the pill, and the United Kingdom has almost half a million courses. Australia, Malaysia, and Singapore announced agreements with Merck. Korea is also in specific consultations on purchasing oral treatments, and it will be introduced in February next year.
On October 27, Merck announced a voluntary licensing agreement with the Medicines Patent Pool to facilitate affordable global access to oral COVID-19 antiviral medicine without any royalty. The agreement aims to promote broad access for pill use in 105 low and middle-income countries. They also said that they plan to link the price of Molnupiravir to the purchasing country by World Bank standards.
Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, many social activities have been restricted, and we have suffered from it. If oral antiviral medicine is commercialized, it is expected to help humanity cope with the pandemic.
