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As it turns out, all the scientists and doctors who insisted that Merck's "revolutionary" COVID drug molnupiravir is extremely safe weren't faithfully adhering to "the science" after all. Because according to a report published Thursday by Barron's, some scientists are worried that the drug - which purportedly cut hospitalizations in half during a study that was cut short - could cause cancer or birth defects.So much for having a "strong safety profile," as Dr. Scott Gottlieb claimed in an interview on the day Merck first publicized the research.It's perfectly understandable why Merck might choose to play down this safety risk:...

Bengaluru: Two drugmakers in the country have requested permission to end their late-stage trials on Merck & Co's experimental antiviral drug molnupiravir in moderate COVID-19 patients. The two drugmakers, Aurobindo Pharma Ltd and MSN Laboratories plan to continue late-stage trails of the drug for those with mild COVID-19, the drug regulator's expert committee said on Friday. The two companies separately sought permission to end trials in the case of moderate COVID-19 patients after having submitted interim clinical trial data around the effectiveness of the drug in treating this category of patients, the committee disclosed, throwing into question the efficacy of...

Merck would turn their back on their creation with three lies about Ivermectin before they would accept the payoff from the United States government. On February 4, 2021, Merck, the corporation behind the monumental Mectizan Program, which rescued the world from River Blindness, told three untruths about Ivermectin. https://www.merck.com/news/merck-statement-on-ivermectin-use-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/ Lie #1: No scientific basis for a potential therapeutic effect against COVID-19 from preclinical studies; FALSE: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166354220302011 Lie #2: No meaningful evidence for clinical activity or clinical efficacy in patients with COVID-19 disease. FALSE: https://covid19criticalcare.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/FLCCC-Alliance-Response-to-the-NIH-Guideline-Committee-Recommendation-on-Ivermectin-use-in-COVID19-2021-01-18.pdf https://covid19criticalcare.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/One-Page-Summary-of-the-Clinical-Trials-Evidence-for-Ivermectin-in-COVID-19.pdf Lie #3: A concerning lack of safety data in the majority of studies. FALSE: https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/36858/pdf/

Merck’s new COVID-19 pill, known as molnupiravir, headed for FDA review for emergency authorization, could potentially carry serious safety issues stemming from the method used to kill the virus, scientists warned, according to a report. The oral antiviral medication integrates into the genetic makeup of the virus, causing a large number of mutations to destroy the virus. However, some laboratory tests indicated the drug’s ability to cause mutations in genetic material of mammalian cells, theoretically causing cancer or birth defects, Barron’s reported.

Merck's new 'not Ivermectin' Covid-19 treatment, molnupiravir, costs $17.74 to produce - yet the company is charging the US government $712 for the treatment - a 40x markup, according to The Intercept, citing a report issued last week by the Harvard School of Public Health and King’s College Hospital in London.Molnupiravir pill from Merck. Photo: Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp.The pill, originally developed using US government funds as a possible treatment for Venezuelan equine encephalitis, cut the risk of hospitalization and death in half in a randomized trial of 775 adults with mild/moderate Covid who were considered at high risk...

Big Pharma is celebrating. Merck has released "phenomenal" test results for its experimental pill for treating COVID. The drug is said to greatly reduce the risk of hospitalization and death from the Wuhan virus. In this regard, Merck has beaten Pfizer, which is also deep in developing a medicine to treat COVID. And to be perfectly clear, both Merck and Pfizer drugs are not intended to prevent COVID. They treat it. And since the Merck drug is said to be significantly different from Pfizer's, it means, according to many experts, there is a strong likelihood of creating a cocktail of...

Shares of Merck & Co surged on positive clinical trial results of its experimental antiviral COVID-19 pill while high-flying stocks of vaccine companies and makers of other coronavirus therapies were bruised.Merck shares jumped as much as 12.3 percent and hit their highest level since February 2020 after data showed the company’s pill molnupiravir could halve the chances of dying or being hospitalized for those most at risk of contracting severe COVID-19.Meanwhile, shares of vaccine makers such as Moderna Inc, Pfizer Inc, and partner BioNTech SE crumbled. Moderna shares fell 13 percent in midday trading, while Pfizer, which is developing a...

Anthony Fauci, the government's top infectious diseases expert, on Friday called new trial results for a Merck pill to treat COVID-19 "impressive," as experts say the treatment could be a key tool in the pandemic fight. "The data are impressive," Fauci said at a White House press briefing, noting he was briefed by the company on its results on Thursday night. Merck said in a press release that the trial found that its drug cut the risk of hospitalization or death by 50 percent. Eight trial participants who received a placebo died, compared to zero who received the drug from...

At the start of the pandemic, researchers began testing existing antivirals in people hospitalized with severe Covid-19. But many of those trials failed to show any benefit from the antivirals. In hindsight, the choice to work in hospitals was a mistake. Scientists now know that the best time to try to block the coronavirus is in the first few days of the disease, when the virus is replicating rapidly and the immune system has not yet mounted a defense. In a trial of hospitalized patients, however, molnupiravir seemed to have no effect on the disease. In April, the companies announced...

Pharmaceutical company Merck and Florida-based Ridgeback Biotherapeutics announced Friday that they plan to seek emergency approval for an oral antiviral treatment for COVID-19. If authorized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the drug, molnupiravir, could be the first oral antiviral treatment for patients with COVID-19. Merck said it planned to seek emergency use authorization in the U.S. as soon as possible and added that it will also be submitting applications for the drug to "regulatory agencies worldwide." The companies said that during a phase 3 trial, molnupiravir "significantly reduced the risk of hospitalization or death" in at-risk patients with...

The developer of ivermectin is performing late-stage trials on a drug that could actually prevent COVID-19. Merck & Co partnered with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics to develop molnupiravir. Enrollment for late-stage trials for their drug have already started.... The drug, which can be taken via a pill, is now entering late stage trials in the United States as Merck plans to eventually seek FDA approval. Over 1,300 volunteers aged 18 or older will be recruited for the study and live in a house with someone who has a symptomatic case of the COVID-19. Merck also plans to use the drug in some...

Drugmaker Merck & Co Inc said on Monday it sees potential U.S. emergency use authorization for its experimental COVID-19 oral antiviral treatment, Molnupiravir, before year-end. "I would just say that our program is enrolling well, and we expect to be able to see clinical data in the back half of the year," Merck's Chief Executive Officer Robert Davis said at Morgan Stanley's Annual Global Healthcare Conference. Merck and partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutics are conducting a late-stage trial of molnupiravir in non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients to see if it reduces the risk of hospitalization or death. Merck in June said it expected to...

Some 50% of the patients needed have been recruited to complete a Phase III trial of an American-developed drug that “might be a game changer” in the battle against COVID-19, says Hadassah University Medical Center’s Prof. Yosef Caraco. Caraco told The Jerusalem Post that his team recently completed its part of a successful Phase II trial of the orally available antiviral drug candidate Molnupiravir, developed by Merck Pharmaceuticals (legally known internationally as MSD), a drug meant to slow the progression of coronavirus from mild to severe disease. The professor presented the data from the study at the European Congress of...

Oh look. We’re going to FINALLY get an outpatient treatment for COVID19!Its only $700 per course!We just have to wait a little bit longer. And – what are those side effects again? Any data on that?Well don’t you worry your pretty little head about such things. NIH, WHO, and CDC have your back.And since MOLNUPIRAVIR will be your only option for outpatient treatment in “The West”, you really won’t have a choice.https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210609005142/en/Merck-Announces-Supply-Agreement-with-U.S.-Government-for-Molnupiravir-an-Investigational-Oral-Antiviral-Candidate-for-Treatment-of-Mild-to-Moderate-COVID-19KENILWORTH, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced it has entered into a procurement agreement with the United States government for...

A University of Alberta virology lab has uncovered how an oral antiviral drug works to attack the SARS-CoV-2 virus, in findings published May 10 in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. The researchers demonstrated the underlying mechanism of action by which the antiviral drug molnupiravir changes the viral genome, a process known as excessive mutagenesis or "error catastrophe.""The polymerase, or replication engine of the virus, mistakes molnupiravir molecules for the natural building blocks required for viral genome replication and mixes them in," explained Matthias Götte, professor and chair of the Department of Medical Microbiology & Immunology in the Faculty of Medicine...

Merck & Co Inc on Thursday said it plans a large study of what could become the first pill to target the coronavirus in people at risk of severe COVID-19, but will no longer pursue use of the experimental antiviral drug in hospitalized patients. The company said it would study the drug molnupiravir in a Phase 3 trial among COVID-19 patients out of hospitals who have at least one risk factor for poor outcomes, such as advanced age, obesity or diabetes. Trial participants can have had symptoms for no more than five days, shortened from seven days in a prior...

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Some doctors are calling an experimental drug a “game-changer” in the fight against COVID-19. Pharmaceutical company Merck recently released, along with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, early trial results for Molnupiravir. The antiviral therapy would be a first of its kind capsule, taken twice a day for 5 days, to limit the effects of COVID-19. Central Ohio family physician Dr. Anup Kanodia explained Molnupiravir works for COVID-19 the way Tamiflu works for the flu. Both drugs stop a virus from reproducing. “If you catch it early on, it’s easier to fight off. Same thing with this,” he said. “So...

A new experimental drug is being tested and shows promise of eliminating COVID-19 just by taking a pill.The pill, Molnupiravir, which is being developed by Ridgeback Biotherapeutics and Merck (MRK), was found to reduce the virus in individuals after five days of treatment in a mid-stage study, the companies announced in a release on March 6.While more studies of Molnupiravir are underway, the companies say the pill could provide a viable way to treat those that have symptoms of COVID-19 and be the first oral antiviral drug to combat the virus.Dr. Marc Siegel, a medical contributor for Fox News, told...