Denmark grants Merck's COVID pill limited approval
Denmark authorized on Thursday Merck's COVID-19 treatment molnupiravir for use in patients infected by the virus and at risk of developing serious symptoms. Patients are urged to start taking the drug within five days of developing symptoms. The pill has not yet been approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), although it allowed its use in at-risk patients.
"We recommend the tablet treatment because we believe that the benefits of being treated outweigh the disadvantages for those patients who have the greatest risk of becoming seriously ill with COVID-19. We expect that the treatment will help to reduce the number of patients who are at high risk of becoming seriously ill," the Danish Health Authority's Chief Medical Officer Kirstine Moll Harboe stated. She added the agency will continue monitoring the drug due to the relative lack of data on its use.