The clinical trials of Molnupiravir are good: this antiviral would reduce the risks of hospitalization and mortality linked to Covid-19. A marketing authorization application should soon be filed.
- The results of phase 3 clinical trials of Molnupiravir against Covid-19 are promising: this antiviral drug would reduce the risk of being hospitalized by half.
- With Molnupiravir, the risk of dying from Covid-19 would also be lower.
When is treatment for Covid-19? The answer becomes clearer. In a press release published this Friday, October 1, the Merck laboratory and the biotechnology company Ridgeback Biotherapeutics announced that they had obtained very good results with Molnupiravir. According to clinical trials, this antiviral drug in pill form would reduce the risk of being hospitalized due to Covid-19 by 50%. Mortality linked to the virus would also be lower.
No deaths recorded with Molnupiravir
To reach this conclusion, the clinical trial was conducted with 385 people treated with Molnupiravir. After being infected with Covid-19, all participants took a pill of the antiviral drug within five days of the onset of symptoms. In parallel, the researchers followed another group of 377 people infected with Covid-19 but who received a placebo. Thus, the scientists could compare the results of the two groups: 29 days after being infected with the virus, 7.3% of people who took the Merck pill were hospitalized, compared to 14.1% of those who received the placebo. No deaths were recorded in the first group, while 8 people died in the second.
A marketing authorization application soon requested
These good results were obtained during a phase 3 clinical trial, that is to say those carried out on humans and which aim to demonstrate the therapeutic interest of the drug and to assess its benefit/risk ratio. . At the end of this third phase, the laboratories generally file a marketing authorization with the health authorities of their countries. This is precisely what Merck plans to do with the Food and drug administration (FDA), the health authority in the United States that authorizes the marketing of drugs on the American market. According to the press release published by the laboratory, it will file an application emergency clearance with the FDA. And, to better anticipate in the event of a positive response, Merck has already started producing this drug: by the end of 2021, 10 million pills should be available.
Treatment is not an alternative to vaccination
“With the virus continuing to circulate widely and because the therapeutic treatments currently available (…) require access to a health facility, antiviral treatments are absolutely necessary because they can be taken at home and prevent people with Covid-19 to go to the hospital (to benefit),” said Wendy Holman, CEO of Ridgeback Biotherapeutics in the statement. According to the latest epidemiological point published by Public Health France, there were 38,390 new confirmed cases from September 20 to 26, 2021, compared to 48,976 in the previous seven days. The circulation of the virus is down in all regions, with the exception of Guyana where the incidence rate remains high, accompanied by high hospital pressure. Nevertheless, if it is one day marketed, a treatment against Covid-19 does not exempt from vaccination, the effectiveness of which is greater than Merck’s drug against Covid-19.
The essential :
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The results of phase 3 clinical trials of Molnupiravir against Covid-19 are promising: this antiviral drug would reduce the risk of being hospitalized by half.
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With Molnupiravir, the risk of dying from Covid-19 would also be lower.
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