Molnupiravir: The Miraculous Drug to Treat Covid-19

What is Molnupiravir? 

Molnupiravir drug is an orally effective prodrug of the manufactured nucleoside evolved N4-hydroxycytidine. It prompts errors in the viral RNA grouping, stopping the viral replication, lessening the contamination, and restricting infection transmission during the viral RNA replication. Physicians have affirmed that Molnupiravir capsules can smother the infection within 24 hours of having it, and this could be a distinct advantage during this pandemic. It is an oral medicine, which can be taken according to the doctor’s treatment plan. While COVID-19 is causing worldwide destruction, numerous specialists have directed preliminaries and studies to track down a reasonable medication to treat COVID-19, and one of its parts is Molnupiravir capsule which showed great viability.

Initially, this capsule was developed for the treatment of influenza, clinical data suggests that Molnupiravir drug has broad anti-influenza activity, which includes highly potent inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 replication. The two active compounds of this drug are EIDD-2801 and EIDD-1931. When this drug is administered through the mouth, it absorbs and then converts to its active form, thus making the Molnupiravir treatment initiated as early as possible to restrain the patient’s progress into further developing to severe disease and also significantly reduces the infectious phase which the patient may be undergoing.

Many tests and studies have been conducted to examine the efficiency of this drug. Initial trials have been conducted with the weasel/ferrets family of animals which gave promising results. Pre-clinical data revealed that the patients who were treated with Molnupiravir achieved good response within 5 days of therapy which indicated that the duration of treatment with Molnupiravir is smaller, with the additional facility of being an oral therapy. Researchers believe that this drug will be able to treat other viruses as well.

The drug was deemed to be safe and was well tolerated up to 800 mg twice a day for five days in healthy trial subjects during phase-1 clinical trials attended in the United Kingdom. In the phase-2 clinical trials, all the patients who took Molnupiravir capsule were found to have a negative SARS-CoV-2 culture after the five-day treatment duration. Following the nod from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), Phase-III clinical trials have been started to experience the effectiveness of this drug with patients suffering from mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms. 

Yashoda Hospitals Hyderabad in collaboration with Natco Pharma announced the commencement of phase-III clinical trials of Molnupiravir which are in progress. If these Molnupiravir clinical trials are to be successful, this could indeed be a turning point in the present scenario due to its efficacy and short duration of treatment of fewer than 24 hours.

FAQ’s

1. What is Molnupiravir?

Molnupiravir drug, also called a Miracle Drug, is an orally active prodrug of the synthetic nucleoside derivative N4-hydroxycytidine. It has been shown that the drug is effective against Covid-19 infection and it starts working very quickly.

2. What are the uses of the Molnupiravir tablet?

The uses of the Molnupiravir tablet are to treat the below diseases:

1. Covid-19 infection
2. Seasonal and pandemic flu viruses
3. RNA viruses including the Hepatitis C

3. When will the Molnupiravir tablet be available in India?

Yashoda Hospitals Hyderabad has already initiated the clinical trial for Molnupiravir. Natco Pharma announced the commencement of phase-III clinical trials of Molnupiravir which are in progress. If these Molnupiravir clinical trials are to be successful, this could indeed be a gamechanger in the present scenario due to its efficacy and short duration of treatment of fewer than 24 hours.

References:

1. The Safety of Molnupiravir, Clinical Trials: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04405739

2. First Pill for COVID-19 Could Be Ready by Year’s End, Medscape: https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/947376

3. SARS-COV-2 Antiviral Therapy, Stanford: https://covdb.stanford.edu/page/covid-review/