PARIS, December 22 (Reuters) – France has canceled its order for Merck MRK.N’s antiviral treatment for patients at high risk of severe form of COVID-19, due to the disappointing results of this treatment, and hopes receive the one from Pfizer’s PFE.N before the end of January, Health Minister Olivier Véran said on Wednesday.
France is the first country to publicly announce the cancellation of its order for the treatment developed by Merck.
At the end of November, the pharmaceutical group had published data suggesting that its drug was significantly less effective than expected, by reducing hospitalizations and deaths in its clinical trial for patients at very high risk of severe form of COVID-19 than d ‘about 30%.
“The latest study results are not good. So we canceled the order, it cost us nothing,” Olivier Véran said on BFM TV.
Merck did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On December 10, the High Authority for Health (HAS) refused to allow early access to the treatment developed by Merck as a curative treatment for mild and moderate forms of COVID-19 in adults with a positive diagnostic test for SARS- CoV-2 and who have at least one risk factor for developing a severe form of the disease. nL8N2SV57G
In October, Olivier Véran had indicated that France had pre-ordered 50,000 doses of this treatment.
For the treatment developed by Pfizer, which has shown in the trial phase an effectiveness of nearly 90% in avoiding the risks of hospitalization and death in high-risk patients, according to the American laboratory, Olivier Véran said he hoped in available from the end of January.
“France has positioned itself so that we can have it from the end of January,” he said.
“It will be available with distribution channels to be determined during the month of January,” he added, without specifying what quantity had been ordered.
(Mimosa Spencer report, French version Matthieu Protard, edited by Tangi Salaün)