A small-scale study to determine the safety and efficacy of an oral anti-COVID-19 drug developed by Merck, a US-based pharmaceutical company, has shown promising results.
According to a statement by the company, Molnupiravir, the easy-to-administer anti-COVID-19 drug, reduces the risk of hospitalization and death by half among high-risk patients infected with mild or moderate Coronavirus infection.
Trial’s Details
Merck had enrolled 775 people with preexisting health conditions infected with mild or moderate Coronavirus for the trial of Molnupiravir.
Half of the participants were administered the entire course of Molnupiravir while the remaining received a placebo drug.
After a month, the rate of hospitalization and death in people who received Molnupiravir was 7.3% while it was around 14.1% among people who were administered the placebo.
How Does it Work?
Unlike vaccines or antibodies that target the spike protein of Coronavirus to halt the virus’ replication within the human body, Molnupiravir introduces genetic errors to distort the Coronavirus’s genetic code and stop it from making copies of itself.
The technique used by Molnupiravir makes it extremely harder for the Coronavirus to find a way around the drug, meaning it can be highly effective against other Coronaviruses or RNA viruses.
Course of Action
Merck is now preparing to apply for the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of Molnupiravir from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In case FDA grants EUA to Molnupiravir, it will become the first anti-Coronavirus drug in the world.
Several oral antiviral drugs, originally developed to treat other illnesses, have been approved for treatment for COVID-19 around the world. However, Molnupiravir will be the world’s first oral antivirus drug developed specifically to treat Coronavirus.
Merck has already started the large-scale manufacturing of Molnupiravir, a brown capsule that must be taken twice a day in its five-day course. The company aims to make 10 million courses of Molnupiravir by the end of 2021. In June this year, the US government had signed an agreement with Merck for the supply of 1.7 million courses of Molnupiravir at a cost of $1.2 billion.
