UK becomes first country to approve Merck pill to kill COVID-19

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Britain on Thursday became the first country in the world to approve a potentially game-changing antiviral pill to treat COVID-19, jointly developed by U.S. pharma companies Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics.</p>
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Britain's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) recommended the drug, molnupiravir, be used as soon as possible following a positive COVID-19 test and within five days of the onset of symptoms.</p>
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The tablet will be given twice a day for five days to vulnerable patients recently diagnosed with the disease.</p>
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In clinical trials the pill, originally developed to treat flu, cut the risk of hospitalisation or death by about half.</p>
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It is the first antiviral medication for Covid which can be taken as a pill rather than injected or given intravenously.</p>
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The UK has agreed to purchase 480,000 courses with the first deliveries expected in November, according to a BBC report.</p>
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It cited UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid as saying the treatment was a "gamechanger" for the most frail and immunosuppressed.</p>
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In a statement he said: "Today is a historic day for our country, as the UK is now the first country in the world to approve an antiviral that can be taken at home for Covid."</p>
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This is the first oral antiviral treatment for COVID-19 to get approved, with the approval coming ahead of potential U.S. regulatory clearance. U.S. advisers will meet this month to vote on whether molnupiravir should be authorized.</p>
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The drug, to be branded Lagevrio in Britain, is designed to introduce errors into the genetic code of the virus that causes COVID-19.</p>
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The speedy approval in Britain comes as the country has about 40,000 daily cases of COVID-19, according to the latest seven-day average. That total is second only to the roughly 74,000 a day in the United States, which has a five times larger population.</p>
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<strong>Also read: <a href="https://www.indianarrative.com/health-news/who-approves-india-s-homegrown-vaccine-covaxin-for-emergency-use-125864.html">WHO approves India’s homegrown vaccine Covaxin for emergency use</a></strong></p>