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- Jim reed
- BBC Health Editor
published photo, MERCK
Molnopiravir is the first oral antiviral drug for COVID-19
Results from interim clinical trials indicate that an investigational drug for treating COVID-19 nearly halves the risk of hospitalization or death.
One tablet (one tablet) of the medicine ‘molnopiravir’ was given twice a day to patients who had recently been diagnosed with illness.
U.S. drug maker Merck said its results were so positive that outside observers called for the trial to be stopped early.
She said she would apply for an emergency use license for the drug in the United States within the next two weeks.
Dr Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to US President Joe Biden, said the results were “very good news” but urged caution until the US Food and Drug Administration reviews the results. data.
The first oral treatment
If cleared by the drug licensing authorities, Molnopiravir will be the first oral antiviral drug.
The pill, which was originally developed to treat the flu, is designed to insert errors into the virus’s genetic code, preventing it from spreading throughout the body.
- An analysis of 775 study patients found that:
- 7.3% of patients treated with molnopiravir were hospitalized
- Compared to 14.1% of patients who took placebo
There were no deaths in the molnopiravir group, but eight patients who received a placebo in the trial later died from the coronavirus.
The data was published in a press release and has not yet been reviewed by external peer-reviewed scientific review panels.
Unlike most coronavirus vaccines, which target the protein that forms the spines (coronary protuberances) on the outside of the virus, the treatment works by targeting an enzyme that the virus uses to clone itself and make other copies of it. himself.
Merck, known as MSD in the UK, said it would make the drug just as effective against new mutants in the virus as it grows in the future.
Daria Hazoda, Merck’s vice president for infectious disease diagnostics, told the BBC: “Giving antiviral treatment to people who have not been vaccinated or who are less susceptible to the immunity produced by vaccines is a very important tool to help end this epidemic. ”
The results of the trial suggest that molnopiravir must be taken soon after symptoms appear in order to have any effect. A previous study of its use, carried out on patients who had previously been hospitalized with severe cases of the Corona virus, has been stopped, after disappointing results.
Other experiences
Merck is the first company to introduce trial pills to treat Covid, but other companies are working on similar treatments. And its American competitor, Pfizer, recently began the final stages of its experiments with two different antiviral tablets, while the Swiss company Roche is working on a similar drug.
published photo, Reuters
Interim clinical trial results show drug cuts risk of hospitalization by almost half
Merck said it plans to produce 10 million full-cycle sachets of molopiravir by the end of 2021. The U.S. government has already approved a $ 1.2 billion purchase of the drug if it receives the drug. approval from the regulator, the Food and Drug Administration.
The company said it was in talks with other countries, including the UK, and had also entered into licensing deals with a number of generic manufacturers to provide the treatment to low- and middle-income countries.
Professor Penny Ward, of King’s College London, who was not involved in the trial, said: “It is highly hoped that the authorities responsible for antiviral treatments will pre-order courses of this drug, as it is. the case with pre-ordered vaccines. “
افت “[وبهذا] Britain may finally be able to properly manage this disease by dealing with cases of illness that may occur in some people who have received the vaccine, relieving the pressure on the National Health Service over the coming winter. “
Professor Peter Horby, an infectious disease expert at the University of Oxford, said: “Safe, effective and affordable oral antivirals will be a major breakthrough in the fight against the coronavirus. “
“Molnopiravir looked promising in the lab, but the real test is whether it will directly benefit patients. Many drugs fail at this point, so these interim results are very encouraging.”
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