Merck Asks FDA For Emergency Approval Of New COVID Drug Despite Safety Concerns

Despite warnings from scientists that its new COVID drug could have seriously harmful side effects like causing cancers and birth defects, Merck officially submitted the drug, Molnupiravir, to the FDA for approval. If it’s approved, it would be the first antiviral pill to treat the virus.

According to  the NYT, the drug would revolutionize COVID treatment since it would be able to relatively inexpensively treat many more high-risk patients sick with COVID, especially those that haven’t been vaccinated (the drug was only tested on patients who hadn’t been vaccinated). Still, the drug will be a cash cow for Merck, since Merck is planning to charge customers 40x the cost to make the drug.

Despite the price, countries are lining up for deals with Merck even before the drug has been approved. Merck has struck deals with the US government, as well as South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and others.

The $700 course of the pill is meant to be taken at home as four capsules twice a day for five days, constituting a total of 40 pills. Per the trial data released by Merck – which was greeted with fawning from doctors and scientists – it halved hospitalizations and deaths (though the trial was cut short by a supervisory board who claimed the data was so positive it would be unethical to withhold the drug from the placebo group). The approval could come within weeks, per the NYT.- READ MORE