The Company Behind Myrkl, the World’s First Hangover Pill

Scientists have created a supplement that claims to reduce hangover symptoms by breaking down alcohol in the gut. The pill, called Myrkl, launched in the U.K. on Monday, July 4 and can reportedly break down as much as 70 percent of alcohol in the body within an hour.

Does Myrkl really fight hangovers and who's behind the creation? Here’s all you need to know about this breakthrough pill.

The Myrkl pill has been shown to fight hangovers via an “independent double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial led by the Pfuetzner Institute,” according to the Myrkl website. The study, published in the Journal of Nutrition & Metabolic Insights in June, costs £30 (or about $36 USD equivalent) per 15 two-capsule servings.

The pill reportedly breaks down up to 70 percent of alcohol within 60 minutes for people who take two pills from 1–12 hours prior to drinking. After 30 years of research, the supplement has been perfected to include a range of probiotics, vitamin B12, and amino acid L-Cysteine.

Both the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) and the FDA have approved the individual ingredients as safe.

Stockholm-based De Faire Medical first invented the hangover pill in 1990. More than three decades of research and development has led to its release. Helmed by chief executive Håkan Magnusson, De Faire Medical is a venture-backed company “with a breakthrough portfolio of [vitamins, minerals, and supplements] products.” De Faire says its products, including Myrkl, are “natural, scientifically proven, yet affordable products with a potential to improve life of millions of consumers.”

De Faire is backed by True Geist Holding and Trill Invest, two Swedish investment firms. Its board of directors includes Mikael Kadri of Trill Invest and Per Berglund of True Geist. Johan de Faire is the company’s chief technology officer.

While De Faire Medical has been around for decades, Myrkl is putting it on the map. De Faire’s study concluded that “one week of supplementation with [Myrkl] resulted in a substantially reduced absorption of alcohol into the body. Regular uptake of [Myrkl] may help to prevent liver and other organ damage, and may reduce the negative medical and economical impact of social drinking on the individual and the society.”

Naturally, it isn't a replacement for reducing alcohol consumption, but it could be a hangover treatment people have been waiting for. “While Myrkl is in no way designed as an excuse to drink beyond NHS guidelines, nor does it stop you from getting drunk, we are really convinced Myrkl is a game-changing product for those regular moderate drinkers,” says Magnusson.

Meanwhile, the pill can impact the feeling of being drunk. National Health Society general practitioner Dr. Dawn Harper says, “If you want to go out and get drunk, Myrkl would simply mean it would take you a lot longer and cost you a lot more.”