Hopkins - MBA Trivia: COVID oral pill

Two years ago, two anti-COVID19 oral pills are ready for use now, namely Molnupiravir from Merck and Paxlovid from Pfizer.

Merck’s Molnupiravir has been approved for emergency use in the UK for the treatment of patients with mild to moderate Covid19 and those at risk of severe illness, including those with obesity, elderly, diabetes or heart disease. The results of clinical trials indicate that the new drug can reduce the risk of hospitalization or death by about half. Paxlovid is developed by Pfizer. Its clinical results show that it can even reduce the risk of hospitalization or death by 85%-89%.

At present, Merck announced its application has been submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Both new pills can effectively fight against variant viruses such as Delta, Gamma, and Mu, and the viruses are also difficult to develop resistance to them. However, it is still unknown when the pandemic will end.