Merck's Covid-19 pill shows lower efficacy in updated data
Merck & Co said today that updated data from the study of its experimental Covid-19 pill showed lower efficacy in reducing the risk of hospitalisation and deaths than an earlier interim analysis, cutting them by 30 percent in the study.
The drugmaker released interim data last month showing a roughly 50 percent reduction in hospitalisations and deaths in 775 patients. The updated rate today is based on data from over 1,400 patients.
Merck's shares fell three percent to $79.41 in premarket trading, amid a fall in the broader markets.
The company said data on the drug molnupiravir...
Merck & Co said today that updated data from the study of its experimental Covid-19 pill showed lower efficacy in reducing the risk of hospitalisation and deaths than an earlier interim analysis, cutting them by 30 percent in the study.
The drugmaker released interim data last month showing a roughly 50 percent reduction in hospitalisations and deaths in 775 patients. The updated rate today is based on data from over 1,400 patients.
Merck's shares fell three percent to $79.41 in premarket trading, amid a fall in the broader markets.
The company said data on the drug molnupiravir, developed with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, had been submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration ahead of a meeting of its expert advisers on Tuesday.
A planned interim analysis of the data last month showed that 7.3 percent of those given molnupiravir twice a day for five days were hospitalised and none had died by 29 days after the treatment.
That compared with a hospitalisation rate of 14.1 percent for placebo patients.
In the updated data, 6.8 percent of those given molnupiravir were hospitalised and one person died, while the other placebo group had a hospitalisation rate of 9.7 percent.
