This story was first published in digitalhealth.net
Government secures two new COVID-19 antivirals
The government has announced deals to secure two new COVID-19 antivirals treatments.
Should the treatments be approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency - thousands of NHS patients will be able to access the treatments to prevent the infection from spreading and speed up recovery time.
The two new antivirals are expected to be given to those most at risk from the virus, helping reduce the severity of symptoms and ease pressure on the NHS over winter.
One of the antivirals is Molnupiravir - from company Merck Sharp and Dohme (MSD), of which the government has secured 480,000 courses. It has proven in clinical trials to reduce the risk of hospitalisation or death for at-risk non-hospitalised adults with mild to moderate COVID-19 by 50%.
The other antiviral is PF-07321332/ritonavir - from company Pfizer, of which the government has secured 250,000 courses. Three phase 2/3 trials are currently underway.
The government and NHS are now working at pace on plans for deployment of the treatments, including the delivery of a national study.
This will allow medical experts to gather further data on the potential benefits these treatments bring to vaccinated patients. Further details on the study will be set out in due course.
Before the antivirals can be authorised, they would first need to be evaluated by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), to ensure they meet the regulator’s high standards of quality, safety and effectiveness.
Antivirals are treatments used to either treat those who are infected with a virus or protect exposed individuals from becoming infected. They target the virus at an early stage, preventing progression to more severe, or even critical, symptoms.
Latest News
16/02/2024 - 12:56
Hammersmith and Fulham Council has created a new alliance intended to clean dirty air and improve residents' health.
16/02/2024 - 10:44
Two million more GP appointments a month are being delivered for patients compared to the same month before the pandemic as part of the NHS primary care access recovery plan according to new NHS data.
15/02/2024 - 10:26
The Welsh Government has provided innovation funding of £380,000 to support two projects utilising technology in domiciliary care.
15/02/2024 - 10:13
The new Scottish health secretary has met with frontline staff at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.
14/02/2024 - 10:27
The North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT) has appointed three new Executive Directors to the Trust Board.
Product Features
UK Building Regulations highlight toxic gas and smoke from layers of paint built up over multiple redecorations as a major cause of permanent ill health or death in a building fire.
Their concern rose with discovery the flame retardant paints most widely used paint along escape routes have been ones which to this day counter-productively use emission of heavy toxic gas to smother flames which rapidly spread along walls if layers of paint delaminate in a fire.
Supplier Profiles
Northwich’s Victoria Infirmary (VIN) Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) has enabled more patients
Adveco, the commercial hot water specialist, announces the launch of live metering of domestic ho
Latest Features
Sarah Greenslade, public affairs and communications officer at the British Parking Association looks at some of the problems and innovations in healthcare parking
It’s easy to assume that the comms team is there to handle press enquiries and the occasional social media storm – but the reality is that strategic communications can make a measurable impact across the entire organisation, from operational to financial, when done properly
