The pill reduces the risk of death and hospitalization from COVID by 50%

A new antiviral drug reduces hospitalization and death from Covid-19 in newly infected patients by 50%, according to early results of a trial.

The pill reduces the risk of death and hospitalization from COVID by 50%

The drug, made by German manufacturer Merck, must be approved by health authorities before it can be made available to the public.

Consumed in pill form, the drug is expected to play an important role worldwide in treating people who test positive for Covid-19 and preventing escalation of the infection.

Merck said early results from its trial showed that patients who received the drug within five days of symptom onset were half as likely to be hospitalized or die from Covid-19 compared with those who received a placebo pill.

Among patients who took the drug, called molnupiravir, 7.3% were hospitalized or died within 30 days, according to the interim analysis. This compares with 14.1% of those taking the placebo pill.

There were no deaths in the drug group after that period, compared with eight deaths in the placebo group, Merck said.

Molnupiravir works by interfering with an enzyme that the virus uses to copy its genetic code and replicate, allowing it to spread throughout the body.

The interim results were released by Merck, which said it plans to present them at a future medical meeting. They have not been peer-reviewed.

Merck was “optimistic” that the drug could “become an important medicine as part of the global effort to combat the pandemic.”

Earlier this week, the company said laboratory studies showed that molnupiravir was effective against all known variants of Covid-19 and that the drug was most effective when given early in the infection.