Merck said on Monday that it has requested authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its antiviral\u00a0coronavirus\u00a0pill.<\/p>\n
Merck\u00a0said in a statement<\/a>\u00a0that an emergency use authorization was requested \u201cfor the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in adults who are at risk for progressing to severe COVID-19 and\/or hospitalization.\u201d<\/p>\n The pharmaceutical company\u00a0said earlier this month<\/a>\u00a0that testing showed that molnupiravir, which is administered as a five-day treatment and was developed with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, reduced the risk of hospitalization by 50 percent.<\/p>\n \u201cThe extraordinary impact of this pandemic demands that we move with unprecedented urgency, and that is what our teams have done by submitting this application for molnupiravir to the FDA within 10 days of receiving the data,\u201d Robert M. Davis, CEO and president of Merck, said in a statement on Monday.<\/p>\n Merck has said<\/a>\u00a0that its pill, which targets the enzyme that allows the COVID-19 virus to make copies of itself, is likely effective against COVID-19 variants, including the highly infectious delta variant.<\/p>\n Big picture:<\/strong>\u00a0Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb has referred to molnupiravir as a “game changer.” He\u00a0predicted last week<\/a>\u00a0that the “pandemic phase” of COVID-19 would likely come to an end with the approval of antiviral pills as well as the approval of COVID-19 vaccines for children under 12.<\/p>\n