The initial delivery of the latest drugs against coronavirus will arrive in the Czech Republic on Friday Morning.
Nearly two years into the pandemic, the FDA could soon authorize the first antiviral pill, offering an at-home COVID-19 treatment designed to keep high-risk adults out of the hospital.
The pill molnupiravir would block the SARS-CoV-2 virus from replicating and taking over the body.
Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics say the pill lowered the risk of hospitalizations and deaths in high-risk study volunteers if given within 5 days of the first signs of infection.
The treatment would be started immediately after, for example, a positive PCR test, even before the onset of clinical signs. That gives the patient the most, the greatest chance for therapeutic benefit.
The Czech Ministry of Health temporarily authorized the use of molnupiravir last week, stating that “the drug is intended for the treatment of patients with proven mild to moderate Covid-19, and for those who are at high risk of hospitalization. It is available to people aged 18 and over, with the exception of pregnant and breastfeeding women”.
The treatment involves taking 40 pills over the course of 5 days.
Britain last month became the first country to approve the treatment, jointly developed with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics and for which Merck says it has signed deals totalling more than 7 million courses.
Pfizer Pharmaceuticals has also developed its own COVID-19 antiviral pill it says lowers the risk of hospitalization and death by 85%.
Both treatments appear to be effective against the emerging omicron variant.
