Convincing results
The drug from Merck & Co halved the risk of hospitalization with covid
Sergey Kolenov, N+1
Merck Pharmaceutical Companies & Co and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics have reported on the third phase of clinical trials of the drug molnupiravir, which is intended for the treatment of coronavirus infection. An experiment involving almost 800 people demonstrated that this drug halves the likelihood of hospitalization with covid, and also reduces the risk of death from it. Since molnupiravir is available in the form of tablets, it will be much more convenient to use it than already used drugs that require injections. In the near future, Merck & Co plans to file documents on the results of the tests with the FDA in order to obtain approval for use in emergency situations.
The coronavirus pandemic has been going on for almost two years. During this time, specialists have managed to develop several effective vaccines for the prevention of covid. However, medicines are also needed to combat a dangerous disease — and things are much worse with them so far.
The molnupiravir structural formula (Wikimedia Commons).
One of the leaders of the race to create a cure for covid is the pharmaceutical company Merck & Co. Together with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, she is working on a drug called molnupiravir, which prevents the virus from replicating in the body of an infected person (it was originally created for the treatment of influenza). In March of this year, representatives of Merck & Co said that molnupiravir demonstrated effectiveness during the second phase of clinical trials.
Last Friday, the company published a press release on the results of the third phase of clinical trials of molnupiravir. The study involved 775 adult unvaccinated volunteers who were diagnosed with mild to moderate covid. At the same time, they all suffered from obesity, diabetes mellitus or heart disease, which increased their risk of encountering severe covid or even dying.
The patients were divided into two groups, one of which took four molnupiravir tablets twice a day for five days, and the second received a placebo. After 30 days, 7.3 percent of the participants in the experimental group were hospitalized, and 14.1 percent in the placebo group. Thus, the drug halves the likelihood of hospitalization with covid. Moreover, in the group receiving molnupiravir, not a single patient died during the study, and in the placebo group - eight.
The results of the experiment turned out to be so convincing that an independent group of medical experts who observed the study recommended that it be discontinued ahead of schedule (it was originally planned that more than 1,500 people would take part in the trials). However, experts emphasize that molnupiravir is effective only in the early stages of the disease: as previous studies have shown, in the late stages, when the virus has managed to multiply in the body, the drug will no longer bring benefits.
Merck & Co reports that they plan to submit documents on drug trials to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the coming days. The company expects to receive approval for the use of molnupiravir in emergency situations within a few weeks. In this case, the US government will purchase the amount of the drug needed to treat 1.7 million people. And by the end of the year, Merck & Co plans to produce enough molnupiravir to cure 10 million people.
Molnupiravir can be a significant help in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. One of the advantages of the drug is its ease of use: since it is available in the form of tablets, it can be prescribed to people who are treated at home. For comparison, all other drugs approved by the FDA for the treatment of covid (remdesivir and several variants of monoclonal antibodies) must be administered as injections, including intravenous.
Scientists have found that due to the coronavirus pandemic, life expectancy in 2020 decreased in 27 of the 29 countries whose demographic bases were analyzed. At the same time, in 11 countries, life expectancy for men has decreased by more than a year. In women, a decrease in life expectancy of more than a year was observed in 8 countries.
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