US Panel Endorses Merck Covid Pill Amid 'Omicron' Variant Concerns

Merck Covid Pill Authorisation: Molnupiravir, already authorized in Britain, has been shown to reduce the rate of hospitalizations and deaths among high-risk Covid patients when taken soon after infection.

A panel of health experts appointed by the US government was mulling Tuesday whether to endorse Merck's Covid pill, a new form of treatment that is easy to administer and could prove more able to withstand variants, including Omicron.

Molnupiravir, already authorized in Britain, has been shown to reduce the rate of hospitalizations and deaths among high-risk Covid patients when taken soon after infection.

Accordingly, Merck -- known as MSD outside the United States and Canada -- is seeking an emergency use authorization (EUA) for non-hospitalized, high-risk people with mild to moderate Covid-19 cases, taken within five days of symptom onset.

But the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which convened Tuesday's meeting and will have the final say after the committee takes a non-binding vote, has raised some cautionary notes.