The Merck pill, which could become the first oral antiviral COVID treatment, forces the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus to mutate itself to death.

[ezzra]

Good news, very soon we will have a pill that according to Merck will reduce mortality and hospitalization by a lot...

 

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02783-1

[johng]

12 minutes ago, ezzra said:

Good news, very soon we will have a pill

Yes good news for Merck  if the 5 day course  of pills is 700 dollars.

[KhunLA]

Tax payer finances the R$D and gets screwed again.

 

Your politicians once again using YOUR money for their's and big pharm's benefit.  WAKE UP

[audaciousnomad]

It says the mutagenic properties raises safety concerns.  In other words, you might become one of the X-Men.  LOL

[placeholder]

Not necessarily such good news. From the article

"This week, two Indian drugmakers independently testing generic molnupiravir in people with moderate illness due to COVID-19 sought to end their trials because they saw no “significant efficacy” for the experimental drug, although they plan to continue trials for people with mild illness. Merck’s findings, which were disclosed in a press release and have yet to be pored over by scientists and submitted to regulators for approval, applied to people with mild-to-moderate cases of COVID-19 who were not hospitalized. A spokesperson for Merck points out that moderate COVID-19 cases in India are defined as being more severe than in the United States and involve hospitalization."

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02783-1

Also, this is a generic drug. So why can't it be copied by some competitor for cheap?

Also, as noted elsewhere, just taking a minimal dose of aspirin daily seems to work better than this medication is alleged to do. Yet the research about that has drawn much less attention.

[Someone Else]

3 hours ago, placeholder said:

Not necessarily such good news. From the article

"This week, two Indian drugmakers independently testing generic molnupiravir in people with moderate illness due to COVID-19 sought to end their trials because they saw no “significant efficacy” for the experimental drug, although they plan to continue trials for people with mild illness. Merck’s findings, which were disclosed in a press release and have yet to be pored over by scientists and submitted to regulators for approval, applied to people with mild-to-moderate cases of COVID-19 who were not hospitalized. A spokesperson for Merck points out that moderate COVID-19 cases in India are defined as being more severe than in the United States and involve hospitalization."

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02783-1

Also, this is a generic drug. So why can't it be copied by some competitor for cheap?

Also, as noted elsewhere, just taking a minimal dose of aspirin daily seems to work better than this medication is alleged to do. Yet the research about that has drawn much less attention.

Not sure I'd put too much stock in those Indian results without any technical details about the studies.  On the safety side it seems there are some legitimate concerns as most have probably seen by now (eg, https://www.drugdiscoverytrends.com/early-safety-concerns-accompanied-mercks-molnupiravir-the-first-potential-oral-covid-19-therapy/).  It will be interesting to see what happens now that it's in front of regulators...I'm a bit skeptical this will be some sort of covid panacea sitting in everyone's medicine cabinet as some seem to fantasize.

 

I don't understand why they are referring to a "generic version", as it isn't approved anywhere I'm aware of, and obviously not in the US where they are seeking novel marketing approval.  Doesn't seem to be generic from the legal perspective.

 

The aspirin protocol is interesting, but that would be for prophylaxis, this is for treatment.  Also keep in mind the aspirin studies are encouraging but exploratory, and to my knowledge the P3 molnupiravir data haven't been published (study likely ongoing).  So not sure we can really say at this time if one is better than the other, or if either actually "works" for that matter.

 

4 hours ago, huangnon said:

Especially for re-packaged Ivermectin.

Totally false, they are completely difference chemical structures, different MoA, etc.  Prodrugs like molnupiravir weren't even around at the time of Ivermectin!  Just amazing how many blatant lies are posted in this forum.

[placeholder]

37 minutes ago, Someone Else said:

Not sure I'd put too much stock in those Indian results without any technical details about the studies.  On the safety side it seems there are some legitimate concerns as most have probably seen by now (eg, https://www.drugdiscoverytrends.com/early-safety-concerns-accompanied-mercks-molnupiravir-the-first-potential-oral-covid-19-therapy/).  It will be interesting to see what happens now that it's in front of regulators...I'm a bit skeptical this will be some sort of covid panacea sitting in everyone's medicine cabinet as some seem to fantasize.

 

I don't understand why they are referring to a "generic version", as it isn't approved anywhere I'm aware of, and obviously not in the US where they are seeking novel marketing approval.  Doesn't seem to be generic from the legal perspective.

 

The aspirin protocol is interesting, but that would be for prophylaxis, this is for treatment.  Also keep in mind the aspirin studies are encouraging but exploratory, and to my knowledge the P3 molnupiravir data haven't been published (study likely ongoing).  So not sure we can really say at this time if one is better than the other, or if either actually "works" for that matter.

 

Totally false, they are completely difference chemical structures, different MoA, etc.  Prodrugs like molnupiravir weren't even around at the time of Ivermectin!  Just amazing how many blatant lies are posted in this forum.

I figured out the generic angle. It's not what I assumed. 

 

"To help India with increased supply of investigational oral Covid-19 drug molnupiravir (EIDD-2801/MK-4482) amid the country’s surge of coronavirus cases, Merck (MSD) has signed non-exclusive voluntary licensing agreements with five established Indian generics manufacturers.

The agreements have been signed with Cipla, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Emcure Pharmaceuticals, Hetero Labs and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries which have World Health Organization (WHO) prequalified manufacturing facilities and capability as key suppliers to global and key low and middle-income countries (LMICs)."

https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/news/merck-licensing-indian-firms-drug/

[Someone Else]

13 minutes ago, placeholder said:

I figured out the generic angle. It's not what I assumed. 

 

"To help India with increased supply of investigational oral Covid-19 drug molnupiravir (EIDD-2801/MK-4482) amid the country’s surge of coronavirus cases, Merck (MSD) has signed non-exclusive voluntary licensing agreements with five established Indian generics manufacturers.

The agreements have been signed with Cipla, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Emcure Pharmaceuticals, Hetero Labs and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries which have World Health Organization (WHO) prequalified manufacturing facilities and capability as key suppliers to global and key low and middle-income countries (LMICs)."

https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/news/merck-licensing-indian-firms-drug/

 

I see...generic manufactures contracted to mass produce non-generic small molecule drug product.  Reporter somehow extrapolates that to mean "generic molnupiravir".  ????

[cdemundo]

13 hours ago, huangnon said:

It certainly is. Especially for re-packaged Ivermectin.

 

https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/health/verify-mercks-covid-19-pill-doesnt-contain-ivermectin/289-abe6a9aa-e684-4c23-be01-e6ba3fd692cc

 

 

“There's no foundation to that rumor that Ivermectin and the new compound is anything similar," Dr. Williams explained. "They are completely dissimilar. The structures are completely different, the mechanisms of action are very different."

So, did the rumor start because Merck has been making Ivermectin since 1975?

“Somebody suspected that because the makers are the same, that there was some profit motive behind Merck kind of repackaging Ivermectin to be something else, and that's just 100 percent not true, there's no foundation to that," Dr. Williams said.

====

People are so eager to believe and share total misinformation.

 

[Danderman123]

On 10/12/2021 at 11:44 AM, huangnon said:

It certainly is. Especially for re-packaged Ivermectin.

It’s amazing how quickly the Covid Denier Lie Factory works to spread their disinformation.

 

Your internet friends must work overtime to deliver lies to you.

[johng]

18 minutes ago, Danderman123 said:

It’s amazing how quickly the Covid Denier Lie Factory works to spread their disinformation.

It's just coincidence that the very company that made the unmentionable drug that is now out of patent ( so no money for them) now has a shiny new drug  that looks like it will be approved in record time ...how comes they don't need to do safety trials etc  before this approval ?

 

It’s amazing how quickly the propaganda factory works too !

[Danderman123]

2 minutes ago, johng said:

It's just coincidence that the very company that made the unmentionable drug that is now out of patent ( so no money for them) now has a shiny new drug  that looks like it will be approved in record time ...how comes they don't need to do safety trials etc  before this approval ?

 

It’s amazing how quickly the propaganda factory works too !

Clinical trials for the new drug are ongoing, which is why you can’t buy it now.

 

As for the conspiracy theory that the new pill is Ivermectin, do you really believe that? Really? How old are you?

[Someone Else]

18 minutes ago, johng said:

It's just coincidence that the very company that made the unmentionable drug that is now out of patent ( so no money for them) now has a shiny new drug  that looks like it will be approved in record time ...how comes they don't need to do safety trials etc  before this approval ?

 

It’s amazing how quickly the propaganda factory works too !

Your assertion of no trials is patently false.  Here's the P3 trial:  https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04939428

 

Your assertion that this is a "shiny new drug" is also false.  It's been in development since at least 2015 per the OP's linked article which you have evidently not read.

 

The molecules are vastly different, you can compare the structures on wikipedia yourself.

 

You seem to have a problem with how fast you predict the drug will be approved, but haven't articulated what the problem is.  You further provided no factual basis that this agent will be approved in "record time".

Edited October 13, 2021 by Someone Else

[vinny]

There are concerns.

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/williamhaseltine/2021/10/08/anti-covid-drugs-are-coming-but-at-what-cost/

[huangnon]

On 10/13/2021 at 6:13 PM, Danderman123 said:

It’s amazing how quickly the Covid Denier Lie Factory works to spread their disinformation.

 

Your internet friends must work overtime to deliver lies to you.

"Covid-Denier"? ????

You assume the rather childish bi-partizan ("us v them") take on a lot of issues, don't you?

When all this Covid malarkey finally disappears, I hope you find something else to fill your time.

[Danderman123]

3 minutes ago, huangnon said:

"Covid-Denier"? ????

You assume the rather childish bi-partizan ("us v them") take on a lot of issues, don't you?

When all this Covid malarkey finally disappears, I hope you find something else to fill your time.

There is a Covid Denier industry. I am sorry you don’t understand this.

 

Some of the industry is for-profit, groups that charge $90 a pop for referrals for Ivermectin.

 

Some is foreign disinformation campaigns designed to weaken the West.

 

How do you think disinformation percolates so quickly over the Internet?

[mommysboy]

I think the AZ regime will be better because it also doubles as prevention.

 

But the Merck pill is certainly more convenient.

Edited October 15, 2021 by mommysboy

[placeholder]

6 hours ago, huangnon said:

"Covid-Denier"? ????

You assume the rather childish bi-partizan ("us v them") take on a lot of issues, don't you?

When all this Covid malarkey finally disappears, I hope you find something else to fill your time.

The cry of "Covid malarky" coming from someone who claims that Merck's new medication is "repackaged ivermectin". Some people have no self-awareness at all.

[johng]

On 10/13/2021 at 6:43 PM, Danderman123 said:

Clinical trials for the new drug are ongoing, which is why you can’t buy it now.

 

As for the conspiracy theory that the new pill is Ivermectin, do you really believe that? Really? How old are you?

Remember  the "horse de-wormer" hysteria  about the "unmentionable" drug ?

 

a quote from the nature article above.

 

Molnupiravir began as a possible therapy for Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus at Emory University’s non-profit company DRIVE

 

No I don't really believe they are the same drug...what a scandal it would be if that where true !!

 

I don't see how my age comes into it  but suspect you are  trying to ridicule me,  not that it worked but isn't that against forum rules ?

 

[Danderman123]

3 hours ago, johng said:

Remember  the "horse de-wormer" hysteria  about the "unmentionable" drug ?

 

a quote from the nature article above.

 

Molnupiravir began as a possible therapy for Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus at Emory University’s non-profit company DRIVE

 

No I don't really believe they are the same drug...what a scandal it would be if that where true !!

 

I don't see how my age comes into it  but suspect you are  trying to ridicule me,  not that it worked but isn't that against forum rules ?

 

I don’t want to assume that Molnupiravir is effective against Covid19 until clinical trials are complete, but given that its’ base is an anti-viral, there is some hope.

 

As for posting about crazy conspiracy theories, why waste our time.

[DavisH]

On 10/12/2021 at 11:49 AM, KhunLA said:

Tax payer finances the R$D and gets screwed again.

 

Your politicians once again using YOUR money for their's and big pharm's benefit.  WAKE UP

My tax is used to fix lousy Thai roads...I think. Certainly none of it goes to big US pharma!!

[KhunLA]

19 minutes ago, DavisH said:

My tax is used to fix lousy Thai roads...I think. Certainly none of it goes to big US pharma!!

Mine also, but that's not the topic of discussion.

[placeholder]

7 hours ago, johng said:

No I don't really believe they are the same drug...what a scandal it would be if that where true !!

First half of above sentence absolutely sane...second half not so much.

[Scott]

A post containing false or misleading information has been removed.  Continue and face a suspension.