By evoking a “new weapon” against Covid on Tuesday November 9 during his speech, Emmanuel Macron made references to two antiviral pills which should be available before the end of the year: Molnupalvir and Paxlovid.
- Molnupiravir acts as soon as a screening test proves positive and allows people at risk to avoid a serious form of the disease by blocking the multiplication of the virus.
- In anticipation, France has ordered enough to treat 50,000 patients by the end of November – beginning of December.
- Paxlovid could prevent up to 9 out of 10 hospitalizations.
The war against Covid will soon be reinforced with two new weapons. This Tuesday, November 9, during his televised address, Emmanuel Macron indicated that treatments “really effective” would soon be available to help treat patients infected with the virus. If he did not give more details, the President of the Republic referred to two antiviral pills: Molnupalvir and Paxlovid.
Available before the end of the year
Both treatments reduce the ability of the virus to replicate and thus slow down its progression in the body of infected people. They should be delivered very soon. “It is because France bet on research into treatments very early on, that we were able to order them well in advance, that we will benefit, from the end of the year, from the first truly effective treatments against serious forms of Covid-19”, indicated the president.
Molnupiravir, already 50,000 doses ordered
The first treatment is Molnupiravir. Developed by the American laboratory Merck, it acts as soon as a screening test proves positive and allows people at risk to avoid a serious form of the disease by blocking the multiplication of the virus. It is already accepted in the UK and is undergoing reviews by European and US health authorities. In anticipation, France has ordered enough to treat 50,000 patients. The doses “will be delivered from the last days of November or the first days of December”, recently specified Olivier Véran, the Minister of Health.
Paxlovid, 9 out of 10 avoidable hospitalizations
The second treatment is Paxlovid. Produced by the American Pfizer, this pill would prevent almost 9 out of 10 hospitalizations, according to its manufacturer. The molecule is able to specifically inhibit the SARS-CoV-2 protease, which is a key enzyme in the viral replication of the virus, and thus prevent its spread in the body. The treatment should be taken orally every 12 hours for 5 days. The earlier it is taken, the better it treats the most vulnerable patients.
The first treatment against long Covid on trial
Behind these two treatments, others are on trial and continue to be tested before potentially inflating the arsenal of authorized drugs against Covid-19. Among them, the first drug to treat fatigue and muscle weakness in patients with long Covid is under consideration. Called AXA1125, this drug developed by the biotechnology company Axcella Health, targets the mitochondria, these intracellular organelles which are often presented as the energy centers of the cells and whose alteration is suspected to be at the origin of the chronic fatigue felt. by patients.
The trial was launched in the United Kingdom on about forty patients in comparison with a placebo. The drug has already been tested in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, with promising results. “Significant improvements were observed in non-invasive measures of liver fat, insulin resistance, inflammation and fibrosis”the Axcella company reported in a statement.
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