- An experimental COVID-19 treatment pill, called molnupiravir and being developed by Merck & Co Inc and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics LP, is seen in this undated handout photo released by Merck & Co Inc.
- Merck’s drug is taken as four pills in the morning and four at night.
- Pfizer’s drug is part of a class known as protease inhibitors designed to block an enzyme that the coronavirus needs to multiply.
- President Joe Biden on Friday said the U.S. government has secured millions of doses of Pfizer’s treatment.
In trials of adults with COVID-19 who are at high risk of serious disease, Pfizer Inc. and Merck & Co Inc created new antiviral medicines that showed promising efficacy. Both medications are also being researched to determine if they can help people who have been exposed to the virus from becoming infected, as reported by Reuters
Which works better?
Pfizer appears to have the more effective pill based on trial data released by the two companies, although they have not yet provided complete data.
In COVID-19 patients at risk for severe illness, Pfizer’s pill lowered the likelihood of hospitalisation or death by 89% when given within three days of the beginning of symptoms, and by 85% when given within five days of commencement.
In patients at risk of the severe disease who received the treatment within five days of commencement, the Merckits tablet reduced the likelihood of hospitalisation or death by roughly half. It did not disclose data on how many patients received the medication within three days of the commencement of symptoms.
Paxlovid is the brand name of Pfizer’s medication. In the United Kingdom, where it has received regulatory approval, Merck’s medicine is known as Lavgevrio.
Why are these drugs important?
While a variety of vaccinations, including one developed by Pfizer, are available worldwide to prevent infection, persons infected with COVID-19 have few therapeutic choices.
COVID-19 patients who are not sick enough to be admitted to a hospital but are in danger of serious sickness can now be treated with antibody medicines, which must be administered intravenously in hospitals or infusion centres.
How do they work?
Both medications are administered for a five-day period. Three pills in the morning and three pills at night is Pfizer’s regimen. Merck’s medication is taken in two doses: four in the morning and four at night.
Pfizer’s medicine is a protease inhibitor, which works by blocking an enzyme that the coronavirus needs to replicate. The pathogen cannot become resistant to the treatment, according to Pfizer, because the medicine targets a component of the virus that is required for replication.
Pfizer’s medicine is used in conjunction with ritonavir, an earlier antiviral that increases the action of protease inhibitors but has gastrointestinal side effects and can interact with other treatments.
Merck’s pill is a nucleoside analogue with a mechanism of action that tries to create faults in the virus’s genetic coding. It was developed in collaboration with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics. It is difficult for the coronavirus to evolve and become resistant because the treatment causes random changes in the virus.
What do we know about safety?
Both businesses have only published limited information about the medicines, but they have voiced confidence in their safety.
According to Pfizer, roughly 20% of patients who got either the tablet or the placebo experienced adverse events, the majority of which were minor. Serious adverse effects were reported by 1.7% of those who took the medicine and 6.6% of those who took the placebo.
Medication-related adverse events occurred in 13% of patients getting Merck’s drug and 11% of placebo patients, according to Merck.
In animal tests, drugs in the same class as Merck’s tablet have been related to birth abnormalities. Similar tests of Merck’s medicine – conducted for longer periods of time and at larger doses than those used in humans – have shown that it does not cause birth abnormalities or cancer.
What do we know about supplies?
Pfizer and Merck have stated that they are working to improve global medicine access. Pfizer has stated that it plans to generate more than 180,000 courses of its therapy by the end of this year, with a goal of producing at least 50 million by 2022. Merck intends to create 10 million courses of its medicine by the end of this year, with at least 20 million sets produced by 2022.
Which costs more?
The US government gives free COVID-19 vaccinations and treatments to US citizens. Pfizer and Merck are discussing rates with countries all around the world.
The US government has obtained millions of doses of Pfizer’s therapy, according to President Joe Biden. Merck has a $1.2 billion contract to supply 1.7 million courses of its medicine to the United States, which works out to around $700 for each course.
The United Kingdom has obtained 250,000 courses of Pfizer’s medicine, although the prices for the British contracts have not been disclosed.
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Source: Reuters
