US FDA panel narrowly backs Merck's Covid-19 pill

A panel of expert advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday narrowly voted to recommend the agency authorise Merck & Co's antiviral pill to treat Covid-19.

If the FDA authorises the drug, it would be the first at-home treatment for the virus nearly two years into the pandemic. The authorisation would likely be limited to patients at high risk of developing severe disease, although the exact population would be...