Yahoo Finance Covid pill approved by UK regulators in world first
Covid patients could soon be given a pill to help them get better after UK regulators approved the world's first oral anti-viral treatment for the disease.
The tablet, made by US pharmaceutical giant Merck, is called Lagevrio and was approved on Thursday by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the government body that approves drugs in Britain.
The UK is the first country in the world to approve the drug. It is still being evaluated by US and European regulators.
The MHRA said the treatment was safe and reduced the risk of hospitalisation and death in vulnerable people with mild to moderate Covid by half.
Sajid Javid, the Health Secretary, said the drug's approval marked a "historic day for our country".
"The UK is now the first country in the world to approve an antiviral that can be taken at home for Covid-19. This will be a gamechanger for the most vulnerable and the immunosuppressed, who will soon be able to receive the ground-breaking treatment," he said.
June Raine, chief executive of the MHRA, said: "Lagevrio is another therapeutic to add to our armoury against Covid. It can be taken by mouth rather than administered intravenously. This is important, because it means it can be administered outside of a hospital setting, before COVID-19 has progressed to a severe stage.”
More to follow...
