PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — New Jersey-based Merck & Co. says, in a recent study, an experimental pill reduced hospitalizations and deaths by half in people who are newly infected with COVID-19. They are planning to ask for emergency use authorization for the treatment.
Einstein Montgomery Chief Medical Officer Angie Nicholas calls the study’s results "pretty dramatic and probably the best news we've heard in a long time, especially against the delta variant, which we're most concerned about right now."
KYW Newsradio Medical Editor Dr. Brian McDonough says the study showed very strong results early on.
"They're game-changing numbers, big enough that they said, 'Let's stop this study, and let's start to use it if we can get FDA approval,'" McDonough said, because it provided a chance to help more people, sooner.
The treatment works by stopping or slowing the ability of the coronavirus to replicate inside the body.
"It is a way to have an antiviral, like a weapon you can use, in your body to help you out," McDonough said.
To be effective, the antiviral would have to be given within the first five days after exposure, at the beginning of infection when symptoms occur. They would not help someone who is already dealing with severe illness.
"This is something that would be four pills, twice a day, for five days," he said. "A lot like the way we now treat the flu: We vaccinate people, and then people who get sick, we try to give them medications early on to help."
Dr. Darren Mareiniss with Einstein Medical Center says, while the new antiviral pill would be an important tool, it does not replace the need for the vaccine.
"Absolutely not, because the vaccine is extremely, extremely effective at preventing hospitalization and death, and is the best thing you can do to protect yourself," Mareiniss said.
The doctors note that the pills might not be as effective as monoclonal antibody therapy for COVID-19 patients, which is in high demand, but that treatment is expensive and requires intravenous infusions. Something in a pill form could reach significantly more people.
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"You go to places like Africa, you have a 7% to 10% vaccine rate," he said. "People, whether they want [the vaccine] or not, they can't get it. You know, this is a worldwide problem."
McDonough says this may be even be more important in other parts of the world, where vaccination rates are very low, than it is in the United States.
The next steps for Merck are to seek emergency use authorization from the FDA and health agencies around the world. With that process will come peer review by independent evaluators and a better understanding of side effects. For example no, pregnant women were involved in the Merck study.
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