Merck: FDA approves Covid treatment
(CercleFinance.com) - Merck announced last night that US health officials have issued a positive opinion on its emergency drug application for molnupiravir, its Covid treatment that it has developed in collaboration with Ridgeback.
The FDA concluded by a vote of 13 to 10 that the benefits of the treatment outweighed the associated risks.
This opinion is a first step before a final decision is made, as it is the FDA's practice to follow the advice of its advisory committees.
The announcement comes after Merck reported less encouraging clinical results than expected last week.
Out of the 1,433 participants who entered the test phase, molnupiravir reduced the risk of hospitalisation or death to 6.8%, compared with 9.7% for placebo, i.e. a reduction of around 30%.
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