A new drug for COVID-19 patients has been found to dramatically reduce the risk of death and hospitalisation.
Clinical trials for US drug company Merck found that no one who took molnupiravir died, while in the placebo group eight people passed away with COVID.
It also concluded that the drug slashes the risk of hospitalisation by half; with only 7.3% of people who took the drug ending up in hospital - compared to 14.1% of trial participants who were given a placebo instead.
775 people participated in the trial and each patient had one identified ‘risk factor’, such as old age, diabetes or obesity that increases the chances of them becoming more seriously ill from the disease.
The results of the trial have not yet been peer reviewed. However, scientists monitoring the data thought it was so positive that they asked for the trial to be stopped early.
Merck said they will ask the US Food and Drug Administration for emergency approval of the drug within the next two weeks. If authorised by regulators, the drug would be the first oral treatment of its kind and the company says it can produce 10 million courses of the drug by the end of the year.
Nick Kartsonis, senior vice-president of clinical research at Merck, said:
“Being the first oral antiviral in the outpatient setting to show a benefit is pretty remarkable. It’s clearly an important point in the evolution of our fight against COVID-19.”
The tablet introduces genetic errors into an enzyme that COVID uses to make copies of itself, therefore inhibiting the disease’s ability to spread.
Results from the trial suggest that the pill is most effective when taken soon after COVID symptoms develop and works across variants, including the highly infectious Delta variant.
Scientists say they are hopeful that this means it will also be effective against any new strains of the disease that develop.
The news comes as a further 1,059 people in the Republic of Ireland have been diagnosed with COVID-19. An additional 11 people have been hospitalised with the disease, increasing the total figure to 308. 59 individuals are in ICU.
Main image: Ambulances queue at the entrance to Causeway Hospital's Accident and Emergency department in Coleraine, County Derry. Picture by: PA.
