Merck says study shows Covid-19 drug causes quick reduction in virus

Coronavirus chronicle

Reuters
06 March, 2021, 04:15 pm
Last modified: 06 March, 2021, 04:16 pm
The antiviral is being currently tested in a Phase 2/3 trial that is set to be completed in May
FILE PHOTO: The Merck logo is seen at a gate to the Merck & Co campus in Linden, New Jersey, US, July 12, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

US drugmaker Merck & Co Inc said on Saturday the experimental antiviral drug molnupiravir it is developing with Ridgeback Bio showed a quicker reduction in infectious virus in its phase 2a study among participants with early Covid-19.

"The secondary objective findings in this study, of a quicker decrease in infectious virus among individuals with early Covid-19 treated with molnupiravir, are promising," said William Fischer, Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, in a statement from the companies.

The antiviral is being currently tested in a Phase 2/3 trial that is set to be completed in May.

Merck decided to focus on therapeutics after its two Covid-19 vaccines failed to generate desired immune responses, prompting it to abandon the program in January.

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