(Reuters) – American drugmaker Merck & Co Inc said on Saturday that the experimental antiviral drug molnupiravir that it is developing with Ridgeback Bio showed a faster reduction of the infectious virus in its phase 2a study among participants with initial COVID-19.
“The results of the secondary objective in this study, of a more rapid reduction of the infectious virus among individuals with initial COVID-19 treated with molnupiravir, are promising,” said William Fischer, Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. Norte, in a corporate statement.
The antiviral is currently being tested in a Phase 2/3 trial that is due to be completed in May.
Merck decided to focus on therapy after its two COVID-19 vaccines failed to generate the desired immune responses, prompting it to abandon the program in January.
Reporting by Ann Maria Shibu in Bengaluru; Christian Schmollinger’s Edition