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The UK has secured major orders of two promising Covid-19 antiviral pills as part of a plan to deploy the treatments among elderly and vulnerable groups to help ease pressure on the NHS over winter.
The deals, struck by the Antivirals Taskforce, give the UK access to 480,000 courses of MSD’s molnupiravir pill, which could be available for use as early as mid-November, and 250,000 courses of Pfizer’s antiviral offering, known as PF-07321332, which is not expected to be approved until early next year.
Merck, the US arm of MSD, announced earlier this month that an interim analysis of phase 3 clinical trial data showed molnupiravir halved the risk of hospitalisation and death following mild Covid infection. Some 7.3 per cent of patients on the drug had died or been hospitalised, versus 14.1 per cent of those receiving a placebo.
The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency is undertaking a rolling review of molnupiravir, while Pfizer’s antiviral pill entered phase 3 trials in September.
Sajid Javid, the health and social care secretary, said he was “delighted” with the announcement, adding that the UK “may soon have a new defence in our arsenal with two new antiviral drugs that we have secured”.
Eddie Gray, chair of the Antivirals Taskforce, said: “This is a very important development in our mission to find antivirals for those exposed to Covid-19, supporting the renowned vaccination programme and the NHS over the coming months”, adding that the treatments could provide “vital protection” for patients over winter.
When the Antivirals Taskforce was established in April, Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged to secure two antiviral treatments in oral or capsule form by the end of the year.
There has been ferocious demand for MSD’s antiviral pill since its results were announced. The UK is the sixth country to confirm an order — second only in size to the US order of 1.7m courses.
Health officials are yet to decide how the treatments will be deployed, but they are expected to be distributed through primary care and pharmacies to elderly and vulnerable groups.
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