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New virus pill cuts risk of hospitalization

VIRGINIA: US pharmaceutical company Merck said on Friday (Saturday in Manila) that it will seek authorization of its oral drug molnupiravir for Covid-19 after it was shown to reduce by 50 percent the chance newly infected patients would be hospitalized.

A simple pill to treat the coronavirus has been sought since the start of the pandemic, and Friday's announcement was hailed as a major step towards that goal.

This undated image provided by Merck & Co. shows its new antiviral medication. Pharmaceutical company Merck & Co. said on Oct. 1, 2021 that its experimental Covid-19 pill reduces hospitalizations and deaths by half in people recently infected with the coronavirus and that it would soon ask health officials in the US and around the world to authorize its use. AP PHOTO