Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 24, 2025

Hong Kong looking to procure world’s first Covid-19 pill

Hong Kong looking to procure world’s first Covid-19 pill

Sources tell the Post that Hospital Authority is planning to buy hundreds of courses of the antiviral medication, known as molnupiravir.

Hong Kong is in the process of securing the world’s first Covid-19 pill, which the manufacturers claim can cut hospitalisations and deaths by half.

Sources told the Post that health authorities planned to buy hundreds of courses of the antiviral medication, which made headlines on Friday after pharmaceutical giant MSD and its partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutics released promising results from their trials.

The trials involved 775 adults with mild to moderate Covid-19 who were randomly picked from more than 20 countries and deemed to be highly prone to severe illness due to health problems such as obesity, diabetes or heart disease.

Half of the trial participants were given a five-day course of the experimental drug, known as molnupiravir, in the form of small, brown capsules taken twice a day, while the others received a placebo. According to the results, only 28 patients, or 7.3 per cent, of those given the drug were hospitalised, compared with 53, or 14.1 per cent, in the placebo group.

After the trial, no deaths were reported among those who received the drug, while the placebo group had eight. The data, however, has not been peer-reviewed and the drug has not yet been licensed for use.

Three medical sources confirmed to the Post that Hong Kong was looking to procure the medication.

“The Hospital Authority plans to purchase 500 patient courses, but they are also thinking about more,” Professor David Hui Shu-cheong, a government pandemic adviser, said on Saturday.

Professor David Hui.


He revealed that the drug costs about US$700 per course for each patient.

Hui and other authority doctors said they hoped the matter would be discussed at the next meeting of the Centre for Health Protection’s joint scientific committees, which was likely to take place in late October or early November.

Another source familiar with the matter said negotiations between MSD, which trades as Merck in North America, and the authority were continuing and that “no paperwork has been signed” yet.

A third source said the drug could be approved for emergency use to treat severely ill patients although it was not yet licensed by local health authorities.

“It would, however, be difficult to conduct any local study on its effectiveness, as we fortunately have so few patients in the community, and most imported cases have a low viral load,” the health expert said.

Infectious disease expert Professor Ivan Hung Fan-ngai, who has looked at the trial data, said molnupiravir achieved the best results with a daily dosage of 800 milligrams given in the first week of illness, rather than lower amounts of 400 or 200 milligrams.

“It works best when given early and results in fewer hospitalisations and deaths subsequently,” he said.

Merck, which trades as MSD outside North America, released trial data on Friday.


Hung, who co-chairs a government panel on adverse vaccine effects, noted the city’s cocktail therapy for Covid-19 centred on the antiviral interferon, which also achieved its best results when given early.

“In general, early treatment is the key to success for all antivirals,” he said.

A Hospital Authority source said it had been monitoring the drug’s development.

“It has been on our radar all along, but we can’t say how the company will distribute the drug globally,” the source said, noting that US authorities had yet to authorise the pill for emergency use.

An authority spokesman said its experts had been closely monitoring the latest developments in the pandemic and clinical research. It would buy and stock medications for Covid-19 when necessary, after taking reference from the latest data from worldwide drug regulatory agencies and manufacturers.

The authority would ensure patients were prescribed new medications that were proven safe and effective, the spokesman said.

The Department of Health said it had not received any application for the registration of molnupiravir. Under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance, doctors can import drugs that are not yet registered in the city for treating specific patients or conducting clinical trials.

MSD said it would apply for approval for emergency use for the drug in the United States within the next two weeks and make applications in several other countries as well.

The Post has contacted the drugmaker for comment.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Airlines Evaluate Flight Cancellations Amid Escalating US-Iran Tensions
Starmer Invites Innovators to Join Government Talent Scheme
UK Economy’s Strong Opening Quarter Shows Signs of Cooling
Harrods Seeks Court Order to Secure Al Fayed Estate for Victims
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
BBC Demands Perplexity AI Immediately Stop Using Its Content
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
Political Turmoil Resurfaces in Belgium Amid Economic Concerns
Fed policymakers divided on timing of interest rate cuts
Trump signals imminent agreement with Harvard University
Inheritance tax referendum alarms Swiss billionaire community
Japan cancels bilateral security meeting amid US defence demands
AI skeptic Emily Bender warns that ‘the emperor has no clothes’
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
×