An article published in “The Financial Express,” a recent study published in the journal, Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews, has shown that a 5-day course of Molnupiravir could reduce patient deaths at severe risk or in need of hospitalization. This study also showed that it could prove effective and safe at relatively lower costs in adults and non-pregnant COVID-19 unvaccinated patients.
Molnupiravir is an oral medication for the treatment of Covid-19 infection. The FDA narrowly approved this drug for emergency use authorization (EUA). Molnupiravir is a nucleoside analog that stops SARS-CoV-2 replication by viral mutagenesis. Molnupiravir is not FDA-approved for any uses, including use as a treatment for COVID-19.
Dr. Anoop Misra, Executive Chairman, conceived the study, and Director, Diabetes and Endocrinology, Fortis CD-DOC, and conducted jointly by GD Hospital and Diabetes Institute, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College & Hospital, Fortis CD-DOC Hospital for Diabetes & Allied Sciences, National Diabetes, Obesity and Cholesterol Foundation and Diabetes Foundation.
The objective of this study was to update the recently conducted review of Molnupiravir and provide tips and guidelines on how to use the drug for COVID-19 patients by raising a few relevant questions. Moreover, in this study, the evaluation of the effectiveness of Molnupiravir compared to other medications having emergency use authorization(EUA) for COVID-19 was also done.
The methodology followed was to check the efficacy and safety of Molnupiravir by studying published results of a phase 3 randomized study in 1433 non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients. More data is available in the public domain between October 15, 2021, and January 5, 2022, and prescribing information of Molnupiravir and data presented at the FDA meeting held on November 30, 2021, was also accessed while conducting the Molnupiravir study.
This study additionally found that the effectiveness of Molnupiravir is competitive to three monoclonal antibodies, remdesivir and nirmatrelvir-ritonavir, with a relatively lower cost. The Executive Chairman and Director, Diabetes, and Endocrinology, Fortis CD-DOC, talked about the findings that Molnupiravir appears to be a reasonably helpful drug in reducing deaths and hospitalization in adult patients with COVID-19 having high risk and could be beneficial in non-pregnant unvaccinated adults with COVID-19 who are at increased risk of severity including hospitalization. He also added that these findings are essential in India as the drug can be used in outpatient settings and effectively against the Omicron variant compared to other medications. However, Molnupiravir is effective only when used within 5-days of onset of symptoms.
Molnupiravir got EUA approval in 2002. Molnupiravir capsules are supplied in 200 mg to administer orally via the mouth. Molnupiravir is a prodrug with antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2. It is metabolized to the cytidine nucleoside analogue, NHC, which distributes into cells where NHC is phosphorylated to form the pharmacologically active ribonucleoside triphosphate (NHC-TP). The drug Molunupiravir is a white to off-white powder soluble in water.
Molnupiravir 200 mg capsules are available in India with multiple generic medicine suppliers. The price of this medicine may vary from one supplier to another.