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The South African drug regulator announced on Thursday February 17 that it had authorized the use of the Covid-19 pill from the American laboratory Merck / MSD, intended for adults at high risk of contracting the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
The South African Therapeutic Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra), said in a statement that it had “authorized, under conditions, the importation of molnupiravir”an oral antiviral treatment, for an initial period of six months. “The authorization of molnupiravir (…) offers an additional treatment in the fight against Covid-19”said Sahpra boss Boitumelo Semete-Makokotlela.
With more than 3.6 million infections and 96,000 deaths recorded since the start of the epidemic, South Africa is the most affected country on the continent.
Taken within five days of the onset of symptoms, the drug developed by Merck/MSD limits the ability of the virus to replicate, curbing the disease. It reduces the risk of hospitalization and death by 30% among the frail population, according to clinical trials carried out on 1,400 participants, before the appearance of Omicron. But this treatment remains “active” against the Omicron variant, assured the American company at the end of January, based on the results of six laboratory studies.
No cold chain
Merck’s pill has been authorized since mid-December in the United States and since the end of January in the European Union. Merck has signed a voluntary license agreement that will allow generic drug manufacturers to produce its drug, to facilitate global access at an affordable price. An agreement signed in January should allow 105 low- and middle-income countries to have access to it.
Although vaccination remains the main tool in the fight against the pandemic, experts welcome the arrival of oral treatments for Covid-19, that of Merck and that of Pfizer, another American laboratory.
Easier to manufacture than vaccines and requiring no cold chain, they will eventually be available in pharmacies on prescription and can be taken easily at home, whereas the anti-Covid treatments previously available are administered intravenously.