Washington: The world’s first oral antiviral medicine against Covid-19Merck’s Molnupiravir approved by UK’s medicines regulator on Thursday. The company said that the oral medicine which can halve the risk of hospitalization or death for patients with mild or moderate cases of the infectious disease.

The UK became the first country in the world to approve Molnupiravir, which is co-developed with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, Merck said in a statement. The pill is administered orally and works by inhibiting the replication of the Covid – 19 inside the body. As an oral therapeutic, Molnupiravir offers an important addition to the vaccines and medicines deployed so far to counter the Covid-19 pandemic, said Merck Research Laboratories Executive Vice President and President Dr Dean Y. Li, E in the statement.

Merck is working to bring Molnupiravir to patients around the world as quickly as possible, Merck CEO and President Robert M. Davis said.

In the UK, Molnupiravir will be marketed as LAGEVRIO, the company said. According to the news reports the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said the decision follows a rigorous review of its safety, quality and effectiveness and made it the first oral antiviral for the treatment of Covid-19 to be approved. The drug’s emergency authorization is pending both with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency.