Fauci calls Merck’s experimental COVID-19 pill ‘really pretty impressive’

Dr Anthony Fauci has praised an experimental antiviral pill that its manufacturer can reduce COVID-19-related hospitalizations and deaths by 50% in people recently infected with the coronavirus.

The White House chief medical adviser said on Sunday that the results of the preliminary study released this weekend for the COVID-19 pill from drugmaker Merck are “really quite impressive.”

“You now have a small molecule, a drug that can be taken orally. And the results of the trial which have just been announced yesterday and the day before are really quite impressive. I mean, if you do a statistically significant analysis on that, it’s very, very significant, reducing deaths and hospitalizations by 50%, ”Fauci told Jonathan Karl on“ This Week ”from ABC.

“It’s important to note that in the placebo group versus the drug group – in the drug group, there were no deaths. In the placebo group, there were eight deaths. … No matter how you slice it, it’s awesome. So we look forward to the implementation of this.

The pill, called molnupiravir, works by interfering with the coronavirus’s ability to copy its genetic code and reproduce itself. Patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 who were considered to be at higher risk of serious illness took the pill twice a day for five days to complete treatment. An independent group of medical experts overseeing the trial recommended stopping early because the intermediate results were so strong.

The results have not been reviewed by outside experts, but Merck officials said they plan to submit the data for review by the Food and Drug Administration in the coming days. If approved, the US government has pledged to purchase 1.7 million doses of molnupiravir, according to the Associated Press.

As effective as Merck’s drug may be, Fauci stressed that it is in no way a substitute for the COVID-19 vaccine, which is the most effective way for people infected with the disease to prevent hospitalization and death.

“It’s such a false story that someone says, ‘Well, now you have a drug,'” he told Karl. “Remember, the easiest way to stay out of the hospital and not die is to not get infected. I mean, this idea of ​​”We have a drug, don’t get the shot” just doesn’t make sense. “

The FDA has approved an antiviral drug, remdesivir, specifically for COVID-19, and has granted emergency use approval for three antibody therapies that help the immune system fight off the virus. But all of these drugs are given intravenously or by injection in hospitals or medical clinics, and stocks are running out.

Health experts like Fauci have long called for a more convenient pill that patients could take when they start to experience symptoms of COVID-19, in the same way that the standard influenza drug Tamiflu helps fight the flu. If approved, molnupiravir would be the first pill to treat COVID-19 in the United States as cases decline, but the death toll reaches 700,000.