Merck requests FDA emergency use authorization for COVID-19 antiviral pill

According to company trials, the pill has been shown to reduce the risk of hospitalization in COVID-19 patients by 50%

Published: October 11, 2021 6:17am

Updated: October 11, 2021 8:41am

Pharmaceutical company Merck said Monday that it has requested emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its antiviral COVID-19 pill.

The company released a statement saying the authorization was requested "for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in adults who are at risk for progressing to severe COVID-19 and/or hospitalization."

Molnupiravir – the name of the drug – was shown to reduce the risk of hospitalization due to COVID-19 infection by 50%. The pill was developed with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics.

Robert Davis, Merck's CEO and president, said in a statement, "The extraordinary impact of this pandemic demands that we move with unprecedented urgency, and that is what our teams have done by submitting this application for molnupiravir to the FDA within 10 days of receiving the data."