Merck’s COVID-19 Pill Cuts Risk of Death and Hastens Recovery

Merck’s COVID-19 pill Lagevrio (molnupiravir) not only reduced the risk of hospitalization or death in patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 by 32.1 percent, it also reduced the chance of needing acute care visits for weeks after treatment ended, researchers reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Matthew G. Johnson — a virologist at Merck — and his colleagues reported both primary and key secondary endpoints of the MOVe-OUT trial. But the paper also discussed post hoc analysis data. Compared to placebo, patients taking Lagevrio experienced a 34 percent reduction in the risk of needing respiratory support, such as conventional and high-flow oxygen therapy, or invasive or noninvasive mechanical ventilation.

MOVe-OUT enrolled 1,433 nonhospitalized patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19. They received standard of care and either placebo or 800 mg Lagevrio every 12 hours for five days.

Patients taking the drug also experienced quicker improvements in levels of C-reactive protein, an important inflammatory marker associated with disease severity and lung lesions. The drug also improved blood oxygen saturation levels significantly better than placebo.

Hospitalized patients who received the treatment were able to go home sooner (nine vs. 12 days).

Lagevrio is also being investigated for postexposure COVID-19 prevention in a separate phase 3study.

The FDA granted the drug Emergency Use Authorization last December for adults at high risk of progressing to severe disease, when alternative therapies approved or authorized by FDA are not accessible or clinically appropriate (DID, Dec. 23, 2021).

Read the full study here: bit.ly/3tlaC0U. — Michele  G. Sullivan