Sri Lanka approves use of Anti-COVID pill Molnupiravir
The molnupiravir pill – (Photo credit: BBC / Merck)
Sri Lanka COVID-19 Technical Committee has granted approval for the use of oral antiviral pill ‘Molnupiravir’ in Sri Lanka.
State Minister Prof. Channa Jayasumana said that in response to his letter seeking the panel’s opinion on the usage of Molnupiravir for COVID-19 management in Sri Lanka, the committee of experts have granted approval for its use in the country.
He said that steps would be taken to register the drug in Sri Lanka and provide it to patients in the country in due time.
The tablet – Molnupiravir – is the first pill designed to treat symptomatic COVID, and it was first approved by the UK medicines regulator.
According to a UK media report, it will be given twice a day to vulnerable patients recently diagnosed with the disease in the UK.
Molnupiravir, developed by the US drug companies Merck, Sharp and Dohme (MSD), and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, is the first antiviral medication for COVID which can be taken as a pill rather than injected or given intravenously.
The drug needs to be given within five days of symptoms developing to be most effective, reported the BBC.
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