Covid-19 roundup: FDA to sign off on Merck, Pfizer pills this week — report; Broad Institute finds rise of Omicron through CRISPR diagnostics
The FDA may soon sign off on two new pills from Merck and Pfizer to help treat Covid-19 before those infected end up in the hospital, according to a Bloomberg report.
An announcement from the agency may come as early as Wednesday, according to three Bloomberg sources, which would create more options for those who are unvaccinated and need quick and early treatment.
Most recently, the FDA’s antimicrobial drugs advisory committee on Tuesday voted 13-10 in favor of the Merck pill’s benefits outweighing the risks for adults within 5 days of developing Covid symptoms. But Merck offered little explanation for why its potential Covid-19 antiviral was less effective in reducing Covid hospitalizations and deaths in a full analysis of a Phase III trial versus an interim look, and mutagenesis concerns remain.
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