Merck Surges as Covid Pill Looks to Ease Hospital Strains
- Drugmaker jumps 8.4% as it plans to seek U.S. authorization
- Pill would offer at-home treatment option for Covid patients
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Merck & Co. shares posted their biggest gain in five years after the company’s experimental pill slashed the risk of getting seriously ill or dying from Covid-19 in a study, findings that could eventually yield a simple way to treat many virus patients before they ever reach the hospital.
The drug, known as molnupiravir, reduced the risk of hospitalization or death by 50% in an interim analysis of a late-stage clinical trial, Merck and partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutics LP said in a statement on Friday.