UK signs deals for two new Covid-19 antiviral treatments
The UK has signed deals to secure two potential antiviral Covid-19 treatments, which could see thousands of patients treated with the drugs by winter.
Health secretary Sajid Javid today announced the two drugs, if approved by the UK’s medicines regulator, will be given to those most at risk of dying from Covid-19 to help “reduce the severity of symptoms and ease pressure on the NHS over winter”.
The government has bought 480,000 courses of Molnupiravir by pharma company Merck Sharp and Dohme and 250,000 courses of PF-07321332/ritonavir by Pfizer.
Javid said “antivirals work by targeting a virus at an early stage and disrupting the way a virus develops and multiplies” and are the first two antiviral drugs developed specifically for Covid-19.
The two treatments still need to be approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) before they are rolled out.
The UK currently relies on the two treatments of Dexamethasone and Ronapreve to treat patients with Covid-19.
“Since the beginning of this pandemic, we have been building an armoury of life-saving measures to tackle the virus and protect the country – including our phenomenal vaccination programme and therapeutics,” Javid said.
“I am delighted to confirm we may soon have a new defence in our arsenal with two new antiviral drugs that we have secured.
“Our work is far from done though – and we’ll continue our tireless work to secure more innovative treatments so we can protect as many people as possible from the virus, its variants and future diseases.”
Javid said he was also redoubling efforts to encourage the 5m unvaccinated people over the age of 16 to get jabbed and for those eligible to get their booster vaccine.
There will also be a “national booking service” to make it easier for 12 to 15-year-olds to get vaccinated.
Figures show that older people eligible for their third jab are not coming forward in great numbers to get their booster vaccine, which could result in increasing infections and deaths as immunity wains.
Former Sage adviser and an early advocate of the original lockdown Professor Neil Ferguson told the BBC today: “I think we need to be on the case, and we do need to prioritise the [booster] vaccination programme but we’re not in the same position as last year.”