The pill's ability to head off severe COVID-19 is much smaller than initially announced and the drug label will warn of serious safety issues, including the potential for birth defects.
Molnupiravir will carry a warning against use during pregnancy.
Pfizer's Paxlovid pill cut the chance of hospitalisation or death for adults at risk of severe disease by 89 per cent in a clinical trial. "To the extent that there's an ample supply of Pfizer's pill, I think [the Merck drug] won't be used," said Gregory Poland of the Mayo Clinic.Merck's pill is expected to play a smaller role in the pandemic than was predicted.
Antiviral pills, including Merck's, are expected to be effective against Omicron because they don't target the spike protein where most of the variant's worrisome mutations reside.
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