(Reuters) – US drug company Merck & Co Inc said Saturday that the experimental antiviral drug molnupiravir it is developing with Ridgeback Bio showed a faster reduction in infectious virus in its phase 2a study in participants with early COVID-19.
“The secondary objective findings in this study, of a more rapid decline in infectious virus in subjects with early COVID-19 treated with molnupiravir, are promising,” said William Fischer, associate professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, in a statement from the companies.
The antiviral is currently being tested in a phase 2/3 study expected to be completed in May.
Merck decided to focus on therapeutics after the two COVID-19 vaccines failed to generate the desired immune response, leading it to discontinue the program in January.
Reporting by Ann Maria Shibu in Bengaluru; Edited by Christian Schmollinger