Prescription of COVID-19 Treatment 'Lagevrio' Starting Today

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Buaeri] Merck & Company (MSD)'s oral treatment 'Lagevrio Capsule' (active ingredient Molnupiravir) will be prescribed starting from the 26th.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the initial batch of Lagevrio for 20,000 people, which was introduced on the 24th, will be supplied to medical sites such as infectious disease specialized hospitals from this day.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety approved the emergency use of Lagevrio on the 23rd. It is the second after Pfizer's Paxlovid.

The authorities plan to introduce a total of 100,000 doses of Lagevrio by the end of this month, including an additional 80,000 doses scheduled to be imported on the 27th.

The target patients for Lagevrio administration are those aged 60 or older within 5 days of COVID-19 symptom onset, patients aged 40 or older with underlying conditions, and immunocompromised patients who have difficulty using existing treatments. Pregnant women and children and adolescents under 18 years old are not included in the treatment target.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has restricted the use of Lagevrio only to patients who cannot use other COVID-19 treatments or for whom it is clinically inappropriate.

Since Lagevrio's effectiveness in preventing hospitalization and death is about 30%, significantly lower than Paxlovid, it is intended to be used as a supplement in unavoidable cases such as patients with impaired kidney or liver function who cannot use Paxlovid.

Meanwhile, as of the 24th, a total of 163,000 doses of Paxlovid have been introduced.

From January 24th to the previous day, it was used for 113,783 patients including those under home treatment, living treatment centers, and infectious disease specialized hospitals. The remaining quantity is 48,947 doses.

Adding the Paxlovid doses that arrived the previous day (44,000 doses), the doses expected to arrive within this month (40,000 doses), and 100,000 doses of Lagevrio, a total of 184,000 doses will be introduced by the end of this month.

In April, an additional 276,000 doses are scheduled to be introduced, so about 460,000 doses of treatment will be introduced from the end of March to the end of April.

The authorities are also considering the introduction of AstraZeneca's antibody treatment 'Evusheld,' used for severely immunocompromised patients who have difficulty forming immunity through vaccination. They also plan to review a 'treatment swap' exchanging oral treatments with foreign governments.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.