Coronavirus: they announce that a pill has halved deaths in severe cases – Telam

Pharmaceutical company Merck, in partnership with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, announced that an experimental pill “significantly reduces the risk of hospitalization or death” due to the coronavirus in adult patients, according to the preliminary results of a phase 3 study conducted in 170 countries, including Argentina, which was deemed “promising” by infectologists consulted by Tlam.

The oral antiviral molnupiravir developed by Merck and Ridgeback “reduced the risk of hospitalization or death by approximately 50 percent compared to placebo for patients with mild or moderate COVID-19 in the positive interim analysis of the phase 3 study “the German-born pharmaceutical company said in a statement.

The laboratory specifies that the study was carried out in more than 170 countries, including Argentina, United States, Canada, Russia, Italy or Japan, and in some places patient recruitment is underway.

“If approved, the disease could be treated at an early stage and if it had been before it would have avoided complications in severe course or death.”“

Eduardo Lpez

According to what Merck reported, molnupiravir was administered to patients who had previously contracted the virus, showing its effectiveness in reducing severe cases but also in treating the viral variants Gamma, Delta and Mu, which accounted for nearly 80 % of cases assessed.

“With these convincing results, we are optimistic that molnupiravir may become an important drug as part of the global pandemic effort, ”said Robert M. Davis, CEO and President of Merck.

The pill is awaiting clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and will be sent to other regulatory agencies for approval.

With this drug, the company has made a breakthrough in the treatment of coronavirus, since it is an easier pill to administer.

The study

According to the document, the MOVe-OUT test was a global, phase 3, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study in adult outpatients, with mild to moderate laboratory-confirmed Covid-19, with at least one risk factor and associated symptoms.

The primary objective was to assess the action of molnupiravir, compared to placebo, based on the assessment of the percentage of participants hospitalized and / or deceased from the time of its administration until day 29.

Results and outlook

Although these are preliminary results, infectious disease doctor Eduardo López told the agency the treatment “shows promise” although he said “no means can be used and the results Phase 3 results should be expected “.

According to the specialist from Gutirrez hospital, “This is the generation of antivirals that directly target the virus; that is, it is the line of research that attacks the virus. It does not prevent diseases like the vaccine, with varying degrees of effectiveness. “

“If approved, the disease could be treated at an early stage and if it had been before it would have avoided complications in serious developments or death,” said the doctor, who clarified that he is currently being analyzed to see if it can “remove the virus from the respiratory tract.”

For his part, the infectologist Luis Camera estimated that these oral treatments to treat the virus “are very important because it gives the feeling that the Covid19 will be there for a long time”.

“Although these are preliminary results, if it is confirmed that they decrease the rate of hospitalization and death to 50%, if I had had it before, there wouldn’t have been the restrictions we had or the quarantines“, underlines Camera.

According to the doctor, “antiviral treatments have been tried and all have failed” and confirmed that there is another study in Argentina, antiviral, of an antiparasitic which is being investigated.

Being able to have antiviral supplementation as a treatment for the coronavirus “may be useful for hundreds of patients”, to consider.

“If an epidemic occurs with the Delta variant, in addition to the two vaccines, it could also have a window of action for anyone infected, vaccinated or not,” he explained during a dialogue with Tlam.

Drugs

Ridgeback Biotherapeutics CEO Wendy Holman said because the virus is circulating widely and the available treatment options require access to a healthcare facility, “Antiviral treatments that can be taken at home to keep people with Covid-19 out of hospital are badly needed.”

“Molnupiravir is an experimental orally administered form that inhibits the replication of SARS-CoV-2, in the preclinical stages and has been shown to be effective for the prophylaxis, treatment and prevention of transmission,” detailed the official statement. of the laboratory.

In a statement posted on Twitter, the company said that “More tools and treatments are urgently needed to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, which has become one of the leading causes of death and continues to deeply affect patients. “

Further, he detailed that molnupiravir “is an experimental orally administered form of a potent ribonucleide analogue that inhibits the replication of SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19.”

And he added that “molnupiravir has been shown to be active in several preclinical models of SARS-CoV-2, including for prophylaxis, treatment and prevention of transmission.”