New study of Merck COVID-19 pill shows reduced risk of hospitalization

The antiviral pill molnupiravir reduced the risk of COVID-19 hospitalization by 65% in a new study by Indian researchers that offered stronger results than previous research about the drug’s effectiveness.

The study, led by a researcher at the Chennai Antiviral Research and Treatment Clinical Research Site, split 1,218 Indian adults infected with the coronavirus and experiencing mild symptoms into comparably sized groups.

Only 1.5% of the group that received the pill required hospitalization, compared with 4.3% of the group that didn’t.

A study last year by Merck, which developed the pill with the help of Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, found the drug reduced the risk of hospitalization by 30%.

The previous study had several differences that make comparison difficult, Dr. Eliav Barr, senior vice president of Merck Research Laboratories, said in an interview Saturday.

Participants in the Merck study were at high risk of developing complications after a COVID-19 diagnosis, Barr said. The study was conducted globally and included patients with mild and moderate infections. The Indian study didn’t target patients at high risk.

Still, “there are a lot of similarities in the studies,” he said. “Both studies show reductions in hospitalization. Both studies show reduction in viral load, that is, the amount of virus you can detect in the nose, from before to after treatment. And both studies had substantial improvement in symptom resolution.”

Antiviral pills such as molnupiravir and Pfizer’s Paxlovid have the potential to reach more people than the antibody treat

ments that are being widely used in the United States for high-risk COVID-19 patients.

The Food and Drug Administration in December authorized molnupiravir for emergency use by certain adults who were at high risk. The drug is available by prescription only and should be started within five days of symptoms, the FDA said, adding that it’s not a substitute for vaccination.

Merck’s pill works by introducing errors into the virus’s genes to stop it from replicating, which has raised concerns about the risk that it could cause reproductive harm. The risk is hypothetical, and Merck says it has not been borne out in its studies.

The FDA said that women who were pregnant should generally not take the pills and women who may become pregnant should use contraception while taking the pills and for at least four days after. The male partners of women who could become pregnant should use contraception while taking the pills and for at least three months after, the agency said.