Molnupiravir vs. COVID-19: Will the drug live up to the hype?
In the search for effective COVID-19 treatments, many drugs have failed to live up to their early promise. In a recent trial, seen as an important advance, the oral antiviral drug molnupiravir halved the risk of hospital admissions and deaths from COVID-19. Medical News Today explored the evidence to see whether this optimism is justified.
A global trial, led by the pharmaceutical company Merck — known as MSD outside the United States and Canada — and Ridgeback Therapeutics, has found that the companies’ experimental antiviral drug molnupiravir reduces the risk of hospital admission or death from COVID-19 by approximately 50%.
Although this was a small-scale trial, these positive results have led to countries rushing to sign up for supplies of the drug.
In the randomized, phase 3 trial, scientists gave molnupiravir or a placebo to 775 people. All the participants had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 infections and experienced mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms that had begun no more than 5 days earlier.
Every participant had at least one risk factor for severe COVID-19 but had not been admitted to a hospital. Risk factors included obesity, an age of over 60 years, diabetes, and heart disease.
The scientists allocated each of the 775 participants randomly to one of two groups. One group received molnupiravir and the other a placebo. The participants took the capsules twice a day for 5 days.
Of the 385 patients taking molnupiravir, 28 were admitted to a hospital, compared with 53 of those in the placebo group. Eight of the placebo group participants died, while all those receiving the antiviral were alive at the end of the 29-day study period.
Recruitment into the study has now been halted because of these overwhelmingly positive results. The manufacturer, Merck, is applying for emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The Singapore health ministry has signed a purchase agreement for molnupiravir, and the European Medicines Agency is considering a rolling review of the drug.
