SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Health is looking into studies and data of antiviral pills that can be prescribed and taken at home to prevent death or severe infections from Covid-19. Reports on these pills that have surfaced so far sound “very promising”, Associate Professor Kenneth Mak said.

The director of medical services at the Ministry of Health (MOH) was on Monday (Nov 8) responding to a question by TODAY on whether the Government has any plans to buy such antiviral pills for use here.

Assoc Prof Mak said at a press conference by the national Covid-19 task force: “We're looking at this very seriously, but most of the reports that have come out so far have been in the media.

“We’re looking for the actual articles, publications, or studies that have been done using these new medications, as well as data that the companies will submit to health regulators so that we can more objectively assess the benefit of these medications.”

Last week, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced that its experimental antiviral pill for Covid-19 has shown to cut the chances of hospitalisation or death for adults by 89 per cent.

Pfizer's drug, part of a class known as protease inhibitors, is designed to block an enzyme the coronavirus needs in order to multiply.

The results appear to surpass those seen with molnupravir, an antiviral drug developed by pharmaceutical company MSD, which has shown to reduce the risk of hospitalisation or death by about 50 per cent for patients with mild to moderate Covid-19.

Dispensed from a pharmacy and taken at home, the drug is expected to reach many more people than treatments like monoclonal antibodies, which are typically administered intravenously at a hospital or clinic.

Assoc Prof Mak said that such antiviral pills are definitely an “important weapon" for any country in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Certainly, based on the media reports, they sound very promising, if you're talking about a drug that can have 85 to 90 per cent effectiveness in reducing death or severe infections.

“It's certainly an important weapon in any country's armamentarium when it comes to trying to fight Covid-19.”

However, the Government will wait for more details so that it can assess whether to procure these medications for Singapore, he added. 

Britain became the first country last week to authorise the use of molnupiravir as an easy-to-use treatment that could help tame the pandemic.

MSD also announced last week that it has entered an agreement with Singapore to provide the drug once it is authorised or approved.