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Companies Develop New Pills to Treat Covid-19

The drug companies Merck and Pfizer have each come up with new medicines that can help protect people from the worst effects of the coronavirus.  These medicines won’t replace vaccines, but could help treat people who get Covid-19.

Since the new coronavirus first appeared, scientists and doctors around the world have been looking for medicines to treat it. Scientists have tested many existing drugs to see if they might be useful. Some treatments have been found, but they cost a lot of money and need to be given with a needle.

Merck's new antiviral Covid-19 treatment, molnupiravir. Red pills on a white background.
The drug companies Merck and Pfizer have come up with new pills that can help protect people from the worst effects of the coronavirus. The pills won’t replace vaccines, but could help treat people who get Covid-19. Above, Merck’s new antiviral Covid-19 pill, molnupiravir.
(Source: Merck.)

Other efforts have focused on creating new drugs. Now two drug companies have come up with pills that can greatly reduce the most serious effects of the coronavirus if they’re given within a few days after a person gets sick.

The pills are an important advance. They can be transported easily and can be used in places without fancy medical equipment. The new medicines also don’t need the special cold conditions that vaccines usually require.

Hospitalman Maria Herrera, a member of the U.S. Naval Hospital (USNH) Naples preventive medicine team, unloads a shipment of coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccinations into a freezer onboard USNH Naples, Jan. 8, 2021.
The pills are an important advance. They can be transported easily and can be used in places without fancy medical equipment. The new medicines also don’t need the special cold conditions that vaccines usually require. Above, vaccines being stored in a freezer.
(Source: Navy Medicine [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.)

Antiviral Medicines
     Viruses like the coronavirus are tiny germs. When these germs enter the body, they make copies of themselves. People get sicker as the virus makes more and more copies of itself inside a person’s body.
     Both of the new pills are “antiviral” medicines. That means they fight against viruses. In this case, they fight SARS-CoV-2, the new coronavirus. Though the two drugs work in different ways, they both make it hard for the coronavirus to make copies of itself.

Merck came out with its drug, called molnupiravir, first. Molnupiravir was developed by scientists at Emory University with money from the United States’ government. Tests show that Merck’s pill can reduce the serious effects of Covid-19 in about 50% of cases.

Emory University School of Medicine
Merck’s drug, molnupiravir, was developed by scientists at Emory University with money from the US government. Tests show that Merck’s pill can reduce the serious effects of Covid-19 in about 50% of cases. Above, Emory University School of Medicine.
(Source: Sinan [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons.)

Recently, Pfizer ended a study of its own antiviral pill early because it worked so well. The pill is called Paxlovid, and it reduced the serious effects of Covid-19 in about 89% of cases. The Pfizer pill must be taken along with another antiviral called ritonavir.

Normally it takes years to develop a new medicine and get it approved. Both of these pills were already being developed before the coronavirus pandemic began. Because there’s a serious need for medicines against Covid-19, the companies are asking governments for special emergency approval.

Pfizer sign on building in NYC.
Recently, Pfizer ended a study of its own antiviral pill early because it worked so well. The pill, called Paxlovid, reduced the serious effects of Covid-19 in about 89% of cases. Above, a Pfizer sign on a building in New York.
(Source: AnToonz, via Flickr.com.)

The United Kingdom (UK) has already given emergency approval to molnupiravir. The US is expected to consider both drugs soon. Emergency approvals could come as soon as December.

The UK, the US, and Australia have already bought large supplies of molnupiravir. Both companies say they’ll charge different prices for the drugs, depending on the country.

Merck's new antiviral Covid-19 treatment, molnupiravir. Red pills on a white background.
The UK, the US, and Australia have already bought large supplies of molnupiravir (above). Both companies say they’ll charge different prices for the drugs, depending on the country. Merck is charging the US 46 times more for the pills than some other countries.
(Source: Merck.)

Merck’s prices for molnupiravir have already upset many people. Even though the US paid for the research behind molnupiravir, Merck is charging the US government 46 times as much for the pills as it is charging some other countries. In the US, the price for molnupiravir is $700, but the same medicine is expected to cost about $15 when it comes out in India.

Experts say it’s important to understand that the new pills won’t replace vaccines, which are still the best protection against Covid-19. The pills need to be taken soon after someone gets the virus, otherwise, they won’t help much. But the new drugs are safe and work well, and should help protect huge numbers of people from the worst effects of the disease.

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