Merck's anti-Covid pill remains "
active
" against the Omicron variant, the US company said on Friday, based on the results of six laboratory studies.
The treatment, called molnupiravir, is an antiviral that must be administered quickly after the onset of symptoms, and taken for five days to prevent the virus from replicating.
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These in vitro studies, based on tests on cells, were carried out independently by researchers in six countries (Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, the Netherlands and the United States).
The results show "
that molnupiravir still has antiviral activity against Omicron, the major variant circulating globally
," Dr. Dean Y. Li, president of Merck Research Laboratories, said in a statement.
This work "
provides additional confidence in the potential of molnupiravir to be an important treatment option for some adults with mild or moderate cases of Covid-19, and at risk of developing a severe case of the disease
," it said. he continued.
3.1 million treatments ordered by the United States
The effectiveness of molnupiravir against Omicron has yet to be evaluated in clinical trials, said Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada.
The treatment, sometimes marketed as Lagevrio, has been approved in more than ten countries, including the United States, United Kingdom and Japan.
The United States has purchased 3.1 million treatments, of which 2 million have already been delivered, according to the company.
Ten million treatments were produced in total in 2021, and Merck plans to produce another 20 million in 2022. A treatment is the amount of pills needed to treat a patient for several days.
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Pfizer has also developed an antiviral pill against Covid-19, marketed under the name Paxlovid, which has demonstrated higher efficacy. The American pharmaceutical company said in mid-January that according to in vitro studies, its treatment should remain effective against Omicron. Other treatments for Covid-19, such as monoclonal antibodies from Regeneron and Eli Lilly, have been shown to no longer be effective against Omicron, and the United States Medicines Agency (FDA) has restricted its use in beginning of the week. The Omicron variant has a large number of mutations, particularly in its Spike protein, the key to the virus entering cells. This is why certain treatments are no longer active against it. But antivirals don't target this protein,and companies are therefore confident in their lasting effectiveness, including against future variants.
