FDA Authorizes Merck’s Covid-19 Pill for At-Home Treatment

U.S. regulators cleared use of a Covid-19 pill from Merck & Co. and partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutics LP, the latest easy-to-use therapy that infected people can take to keep out of the hospital.

The authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration permits doctors to prescribe the drug, called molnupiravir, to adults at high risk of severe disease shortly after they develop mild to moderate symptoms.