Oral Covid treatment yields promising trial data: drugmakers

German pharmaceutical giant Merck and a US partner reported promising results on Saturday in trials of an oral drug to fight COVID-19, claiming it helps reduce patients’ viral load.

“At a time when the need for antiviral treatments for SARS-CoV-2 is not being met, we are encouraged by these preliminary data,” said Wendy Painter, chief medical officer of US company Ridgeback Biotherapeutics.

In January, Merck halted work on two COVID vaccine candidates, but continued research on two products to treat the disease, including a pill-based one called molnupiravir, which it developed with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics.

The drug caused a significant drop in patients’ viral load after five days of treatment, Merck said in a meeting with infectious disease experts.

This phase 2a test – drug trials have three stages before a product can be approved – has been performed with 202 out-of-hospital people with symptoms of COVID-19.

There was no safety alert, and of four serious adverse events that were reported, none were considered to be related to taking this drug, Ridgeback said.

Oral antiviral drugs such as oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza) are sometimes prescribed for seasonal flu, but researchers have yet to find something similar to fight the coronavirus.

The results of this study – a faster decrease in viral load in people with early-stage COVID-19 who are treated with molnupiravir – are promising, said William Fischer, principal investigator of the study and professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina. .

“If supported by additional studies, (they) could have important public health implications, especially as the SARS-CoV-2 virus continues to spread and evolve around the world,” said added Fischer.

Merck is also working on another COVID oral treatment called MK-711.

Preliminary results from clinical trials with the drug show a more than 50% reduction in the risk of death or respiratory problems in hospitalized patients with moderate to severe COVID-19, the company said in January.

© 2021 AFP