The Department of Health (DOH) said it is closely monitoring the latest development in the ongoing clinical trials of Molnupiravir, which could be the first oral antiviral medication for coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that they are awaiting the complete data of the international clinical trial of Molnupiravir. This drug was developed by pharmaceutical giant Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics.
"Malaking tulong iyan kapag nagtuluy-tuloy na po iyong trial at nakapagpakita sa final results niya na talagang makakatulong sa ating mga pasyente (That would be a big help once the final results show that it is effective for the patients)," said Vergeire on Saturday, Oct. 3.
"Well, nasa trial stages pa rin po ito pong gamot na ito. So, hihintayin po natin makumpleto nila, ma-officially publish iyong kanilang mga resulta (Well, this drug is still in the clinical trial stage. So, we will wait for them to complete and to officially publish their results)," she added.
Vergeire said that once the data is complete, these will be reviewed by the country's health experts.
"We have experts na sila po ay pinag-aaralan ng regularly ang mga investigational drugs na nasa market o di kaya ay pinag-aaralan thru clinical trials para kung ito po ay ma-approved na, tayo po ay ready na and we can already negotiate for this kind of drugs (We have experts who regularly study investigational drugs that are on the market or are being studied thru clinical trials----so if it is already approved, we are ready and we can already negotiate for this kind of drugs)," she said.
In a statement, Merck said that Molnupiravir “reduced the risk of hospitalization or death by approximately 50 percent” among COVID-19 patients who participated in the trials.
"With these compelling results, we are optimistic that Molnupiravir can become an important medicine as part of the global effort to fight the pandemic," said Merck Chief Executive Officer and President Robert Davis.