Merck's COVID-19 pill reduces risk of hospitalisation and death

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2021-12-17 09:00

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Merck's COVID-19 pill molnupiravir can reduce the risk of hospitalisation and death when taken soon after contracting COVID-19, according to the results of its phase 3 trial which were announced by the company last month but have now been published in a peer reviewed journal. An interim analysis had initially suggested molnupiravir reduced the risk of hospitalisation and death by 50 per cent, but the results of the full study now show this figure is closer to 30 per cent. The full study showed that 6.8 per cent of the molnupiravir group were hospitalised or died in the first month, compared to 9.7 per cent in the placebo (inactive sugar pill) group. Nine people treated with the placebo died, and one person treated with molnupiravir died during the same period.