AGL 40.18 Increased By ▲ 0.18 (0.45%)
AIRLINK 127.31 Increased By ▲ 0.27 (0.21%)
BOP 6.58 Decreased By ▼ -0.09 (-1.35%)
CNERGY 4.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.22%)
DCL 8.52 Decreased By ▼ -0.03 (-0.35%)
DFML 41.90 Increased By ▲ 0.46 (1.11%)
DGKC 87.60 Increased By ▲ 0.75 (0.86%)
FCCL 32.56 Increased By ▲ 0.28 (0.87%)
FFBL 65.01 Increased By ▲ 0.21 (0.32%)
FFL 10.26 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.1%)
HUBC 109.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.07 (-0.06%)
HUMNL 14.60 Decreased By ▼ -0.08 (-0.54%)
KEL 5.12 Increased By ▲ 0.07 (1.39%)
KOSM 7.57 Increased By ▲ 0.11 (1.47%)
MLCF 41.65 Increased By ▲ 0.27 (0.65%)
NBP 59.71 Decreased By ▼ -0.70 (-1.16%)
OGDC 193.75 Increased By ▲ 3.65 (1.92%)
PAEL 28.21 Increased By ▲ 0.38 (1.37%)
PIBTL 7.74 Decreased By ▼ -0.09 (-1.15%)
PPL 151.98 Increased By ▲ 1.92 (1.28%)
PRL 26.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.38 (-1.41%)
PTC 16.11 Increased By ▲ 0.04 (0.25%)
SEARL 83.50 Decreased By ▼ -2.50 (-2.91%)
TELE 7.65 Decreased By ▼ -0.06 (-0.78%)
TOMCL 35.39 Decreased By ▼ -0.02 (-0.06%)
TPLP 8.11 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.12%)
TREET 16.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.41 (-2.5%)
TRG 52.70 Decreased By ▼ -0.59 (-1.11%)
UNITY 26.31 Increased By ▲ 0.15 (0.57%)
WTL 1.25 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.79%)
BR100 9,953 Increased By 69.4 (0.7%)
BR30 30,908 Increased By 307.7 (1.01%)
KSE100 93,785 Increased By 429.6 (0.46%)
KSE30 29,050 Increased By 119.3 (0.41%)

NEW YORK: The US on Thursday authorized Merck & Co’s antiviral pill for COVID-19 for certain high-risk adult patients, a day after giving the go-ahead to a similar but more effective treatment from Pfizer Inc. Merck’s drug, molnupiravir developed with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, was shown to reduce hospitalizations and deaths by around 30% in a clinical trial of high-risk individuals early in the course of the illness.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized Merck’s drug to treat mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in adults who are at risk for severe disease, and for whom alternative COVID-19 treatments are not accessible or clinically appropriate.

Pfizer’s drug, Paxlovid was authorized on Wednesday for people aged 12 and older and has shown to be nearly 90% effective in preventing hospitalizations and deaths in patients at high risk of severe illness, according to trial data.

The Pfizer treatment’s two-drug regimen may not be appropriate for some patients because it includes an older antiviral called ritonavir that is known to have interactions with some other prescription medicines.

Comments

Comments are closed.