Potential New COVID Pill Has UW-Health Doctor Optimistic

Thursday, October 7th, 2021 -- 9:01 AM

(WBAY) The convenience of a pill and the promising data to go along with it, is leaving one doctor “cautiously optimistic” about the continued fight against COVID-19.

New Jersey-based drug company Merck said its experimental pill could help treat people with COVID after diagnosis and the start of symptoms. “I think it sounds exciting. You know, if it’s effective and safe, it fills a need,” said Dr. Nasia Safdar, the medical director for infection prevention at UW-Health.

“Right now there’s very little that’s available for people who have mild symptoms. If you want to get the monoclonal antibody, for instance, that’s an intravenous or subcutaneous drug; you have to go somewhere to get it.”

Dr. Safdar said the pill would make it accessible and convenient for people. “It’s good that this is a different and novel pathway that might be available to people who are otherwise not feeling sick enough to go to the hospital but yet still need treatment to feel better,” said Dr. Safdar.

The drug is called Molnupiravir and it’s considered an anti-viral. “It means that in some way it interferes with the ability of the virus to replicate or introduces errors into the virus so that it cannot replicate,” Dr. Safdar explained.

According to Merck, the anti-viral pill would be taken orally after diagnosis. The data released so far said it helps reduce death and hospitalizations by 50 percent if given early enough.

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