Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 03, 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 The data, however, has not been peer-reviewed and the drug has not yet been licensed for use.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
Dutch government falls as far-right leader Wilders quits coalition
Harvard Urges US to Unfreeze Funds for Public Health Research
Businessman Mauled by Lion at Luxury Namibian Lodge
Researchers Consider New Destinations Beyond the U.S.
53-Year-Old Doctor Claims Biological Age of 23
Trump Struggles to Secure Trade Deals With China and Europe
Russia to Return 6,000 Corpses Under Ukraine Prisoner Swap Deal
Microsoft Lays Off Hundreds More Amid Restructuring
Harvey Weinstein’s Publicist Embraces Notoriety
Macron and Meloni Seek Unity Despite Tensions
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Newark Mayor Sues Over Arrest at Immigration Facility
Center-Left Candidate Projected to Win South Korean Presidency
Trump’s Tariffs Predicted to Stall Global Economic Growth
South Korea’s President-Elect Expected to Take Softer Line on Trump and North Korea
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Ukraine Executes Long-Range Drone Strikes on Russian Airbases
Conservative Karol Nawrocki wins Poland’s presidential election
Study Identifies Potential Radicalization Risk Among Over One Million Muslims in Germany
Good news: Annalena Baerbock Elected President of the UN General Assembly
Apple Appeals EU Law Over User Data Sharing Requirements
South Africa: "First Black Bank" Collapses after Being Looted by Owners
Poland will now withdraw from the EU migration pact after pro-Trump nationalist wins Election
"That's Disgusting, Don’t Say It Again": The Trump Joke That Made the President Boil
Trump Cancels NASA Nominee Over Democratic Donations
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OnlyFans for Sale: From Lockdown Lifeline to Eight-Billion-Dollar Empire
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Hegseth Warns of Potential Chinese Military Action Against Taiwan
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Jamie Dimon Warns U.S. Bond Market Faces Pressure from Rising Debt
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Taylor Swift Gains Ownership of Her First Six Albums
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
×