And two.
After authorizing the marketing of Pfizer's anti-covid pill on Wednesday, the American regulator gave the green light, this Thursday, to that developed by the Merck laboratory, for adults at high risk.
This decision "adds a new treatment against Covid-19, in the form of a pill that can be taken orally," said Food and Drug Administration (FDA) official Patrizia Cavazzoni.
The authority therefore recommends its use in people at high risk of developing a serious case that can lead to hospitalization or death and not in those with mild to moderate cases of the disease. The medicine can be taken within five days of the onset of symptoms. The patient should ingest eight doses per day, in capsule form, for five days. This treatment works by entering the genome of the virus to cause mutations that limit its reproduction. According to the final results of clinical trials conducted by Merck, made public at the end of November, it would reduce by 30% the rate of hospitalization and death in patients at risk.
The FDA is thus rendering its final verdict after, on November 30, a committee of independent American scientists voted in favor of the emergency authorization of the drug for high-risk adults.
The vote of the experts was however tight, with 13 for and 10 against.
Some concerns
Merck's treatment, less effective than expected, does indeed raise some concerns.
The US Medicines Agency has not cleared it for those under the age of 18 because it could affect bone and cartilage development.
This pill is also not recommended for pregnant women, due to the potential risk to the fetus, but doctors can ignore it if the benefits outweigh the risks.
So far, only the United Kingdom had authorized the emergency use of molnupiravir in early November. In France, the latter suffered a disappointment, the High Authority of Health announcing on December 10 that it did not authorize its distribution on the territory. The reason ? The lack of efficacy of the treatment which "would risk causing a loss of opportunity for patients, who would not be treated" by another more effective drug.
Either way, the United States now has two anti-Covid treatments, including that of Pfizer, marketed under the name Paxlovid, which would reduce the risk of developing a severe form by 90%, according to initial studies. .
Washington has already purchased 3.1 million Merck treatments and 10 million from Pfizer.
In its press release, the FDA nevertheless insists on the fact that these two treatments are complementary to the vaccine, which must remain the main tool in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
The country faces, two days before Christmas, the rapid advance of the Omicron variant, now the majority in the United States.
