Merck says its COVID-19 pill drastically reduced deaths during trial

Pharmaceutical company Merck has announced that its molnupiravir pill-based COVID-19 treatment “significantly” reduced the rates of hospitalization and death among patients during its Phase 3 MOVe-OUT trial. The benefits were observed among participants who had mild to moderate COVID-19, but who weren’t hospitalized at the time they started taking the oral treatment. Molnupiravir is a pill that patients who have …