USFDA to authorize Pfizer, Merck COVID pills this week: Report

The two drugs, especially Pfizer's pill Paxlovid, are seen as promising new oral treatments that can be taken upon onset of symptoms at home to help prevent COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths.

Merck's drug, molnupiravir, developed with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, was shown to reduce hospitalizations and deaths by around 30% in a clinical trial of high-risk individuals early in the course of the illness.

Molnupiravir gained a narrow vote in favor of authorization by a panel of advisers to the FDA on Nov. 30.

Meanwhile, Pfizer's Paxlovid showed near 90% efficacy in preventing hospitalizations and deaths in high-risk patients.

The FDA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Read also: Pfizer, BioNTech seek USFDA approval for COMIRNATY in adolescents aged 12-15 years

Britain in November became the first country in the world to approve Merck's antiviral drug for use in people with mild to moderate COVID-19 and for those who have at least one risk factor for developing severe illness. 

The United States has a contract to buy as many as 5 million courses of Merck's drug, and 10 million courses of Pfizer's treatment.