Denmark becomes first EU nation to approve pill-based treatment for COVID

Denmark has become the first country in the European Union (EU) to authorise the use of US drugmaker Merck’s anti-COVID-19 pill called ‘Molnupiravir’ to treat symptomatic, at-risk patients, reported Sputnik. The pill-based treatment against Coronavirus infection is marketed under the name Lagevrio and has already received approval for emergency use by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in mid-November. EMA approval meant that the 27 member states were allowed to decide for themselves to use the pills even before the formal authorisation.

Since November, Lagevrio has also been approved in the UK and is soon to be approved in the United States, as per the report. Kirstine Moll Harboe at the Danish Health Authority said in a statement, “We are recommending the pill treatment because we believe that the benefits outweigh the harms for those patients who are most at risk of becoming severely ill with COVID-19.”

While giving a nod to pill-based treatment against COVID-19, Harboe also said that Danish authorities were fully aware that the drug was new and still lacked knowledge about the same. However, she pledged that the effects and the side effects of the treatment will be monitored closely. UK marked the first global authorisation of Molnupiravir with allowing its treatment among people aged 18 and above and have mild-to-moderate COVID-19 or face at least risk factor.

Molnupiravir found to reduce hospitalisations, death risk

Publishing the findings of the Phase 3 study of Molnupiravir produced by Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, the company said in an official statement on 16 December that the pill-based treatment was found to reduce the hospitalisations and also the risk of death due to COVID-19. The official release stated, “Data from MOVe-OUT demonstrated that early treatment with Molnupiravir significantly reduced the risk of hospitalization or death in high risk, unvaccinated adults with COVID-19. Merck is developing Molnupiravir in collaboration with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics.”

On the positive results of the study, Dr. Dean Y. Li, president, Merck Research Laboratories said that Molnupiravir “significantly reduced the risk of hospitalization and death among a diverse population of patients at risk for more severe COVID-19. The increases in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths being reported globally are a stark reminder that new tools are urgently needed, which is why we are moving with speed and rigour to obtain authorizations and to accelerate broad global access to this investigational medicine for appropriate patients.”

(IMAGE: AP/ Unsplash)