Denmark today approved treatment with the antiviral pill molnupiravir (molnupiravir) from the pharmaceutical company Merck for patients at risk of developing serious COVID-19, including the elderly.
Treatment is still under review by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Faced with a growing number of coronavirus infections, the EU drug regulator recommended its use for adults in November before making a broader recommendation.
Announcing its approval for restricted use in Denmark, Chief Medical Officer Christine Mol Harboe said: “We believe the benefits of treatment outweigh the disadvantages for patients at higher risk for COVID-19.”
Britain last month became the first country to approve the treatment, which was co-developed with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics and which Merck says has signed agreements for a total of at least seven million doses.
The EMA has advised patients to start treatment with the Merck pill – called Lagevrio in the EU – for the first five days after the onset of symptoms for adults who do not need oxygen support and are at risk for worsening the disease.
Recent data from trials have shown, however, that the drug reduces hospitalizations and deaths among high-risk patients by only about 30%.
The EU drug regulator has also begun testing Paxlovid, a rival Pfizer antiviral pill that the company said last month reduced the risk of hospitalization or death for adults at risk of serious infection by 89%.
The Pfizer pill could be approved by the US regulator by the end of the year.
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