New antiviral COVID-19 drug quickly reduces virus, drugmaker Merck reports
Updated Mar 06, 2021;
Posted Mar 06, 2021
Clinical trials of a new antiviral COVID treatment were said to be promising, Merck announced on Saturday.AP Photo/Matt Rourke, file
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New Jersey-based Merck said Saturday that the experimental antiviral drug molnupiravir it has been developing with Ridgeback Bio showed a quick reduction of the infectious virus in a study among participants with early COVID-19.
“We continue to make progress in our Phase 2/3 clinical programs evaluating molnupiravir in both outpatient and hospital settings,” said Roy Baynes, head of global clinical development and chief medical officer at Merck Research Laboratories.
Updates on CCP Virus: Bishops Encourage Catholics to Get mRNA Vaccine Over Johnson & Johnson Due to Abortion Link
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) have recommended Catholics get the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer or Moderna over Johnson & Johnson, if possible, because the latter adenovirus vector vaccine was developed with the help of abortion-derived cell lines.
In a statement released on March 2, Bishop Kevin Rhoades, chairman of the conference’s Committee on Doctrine, and Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann, chairman of the conference’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities, encouraged Catholics to avoid getting the latest adenovirus vector COVID-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson if alternatives are available.
Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, LP on Saturday announced preliminary results from Ridgebacks Phase 2a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and efficacy to eliminate SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA .
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