WHO gives conditional recommendation for COVID treatment molnupiravir

[oxo1947]

The Drug apparently had been around for treatment of other RNA Viruses but no one had tried it on Covid patients.

WHO updates its treatment guidelines to include molnupiravir

https://www.who.int/news/item/03-03-2022-molnupiravir

 

 

 

 

[internationalism]

Strange that antiviral medicine was tried after that long. 
there were other medicines, over thousand tried

[hughrection]

Seriously - this is old news.

 

Do an internet search and you will see that it has been prescribed for some time now.

 

This from 2021 ..... Molnupiravir, an Oral Antiviral Treatment for COVID-19 - PubMed (nih.gov)

Edited April 2, 2022 by hughrection

[Gulfsailor]

What a weird story. This drug was developed by Merck and touted to be the new wonder drug against Covid last year already. But early results showed that it was ‘only’ 30 to 40% effective in real world studies. Subsequently some countries like France dropped its use in favor of better treatments.

[Gulfsailor]

On 4/2/2022 at 5:06 PM, oxo1947 said:

 

Uhm. The press release you linked to is from March 3rd, almost a month ago…

[Meat Pie 47]

1 hour ago, Gulfsailor said:

Uhm. The press release you linked to is from March 3rd, almost a month ago…https

Link from today

 

https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/new-oral-covid19-drug-eliminates-virus-in-days-study-finds/news-story/701eabf16b1a2dd8d63fc8934ef2bed4

 

 

[impulse]

39 minutes ago, Meat Pie 47 said:

Link from today

 

https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/new-oral-covid19-drug-eliminates-virus-in-days-study-finds/news-story/701eabf16b1a2dd8d63fc8934ef2bed4

 

The UK approved it in November, the (US)FDA approved it (EUA) in December, 2021.  Australia's contribution seems to be limited to buying the stuff.

 

Developed at Emory University in Atlanta, GA, funded by the Defense Threat Reduction agency.  Abandoned by Emory due to "mutagenicity" risks. Licensed to Ridgeback Biotherapeutics who partnered with Merck to bring it to market.

 

Here's the best part:  In September 2021, Merck signed a voluntary licensing agreement with the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) that allows MPP to sublicense molnupiravir and supply the COVID-19 oral medication to 105 low- and middle-income countries. The cost of the initial purchase made by the US government was about $712 per course of treatment, while treatment with generics in developing countries can cost as little as $20.

 

Our (US) tax dollars paid for its development and for that, we get to pay 35x as much as other countries pay for generics.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molnupiravir

 

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

There are two imported antiviral treatments Thailand is buying for people who have become infected with COVID that aim to prevent progression to serious illness -- paxlovid by Pfizer and molnupiravir by Merck.

 

The study cited above was done by the manufacturer of molnupiravir, which is interesting considering the prior reporting that's been done comparing the effectiveness of the two, where paxlovid was shown as far more effective.

 

November 29, 2021

Molnupiravir: Merck’s Covid-19 antiviral less effective in new analysis

 

"Merck has provided updated data on its Covid-19 antiviral, molnupiravir, that shows the antiviral to be significantly less effective against the virus than previously thought.

 

The new analysis, shared by the company on Friday, shows treatment with molnupiravir reduces hospitalisation or death by 30%. The drug’s efficacy is considerably lower than what was reported in interim analysis in October, when molnupiravir was said to reduce the risk of hospitalisation and death by around 50%."

 

https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/news/molnupiravir-merck-antiviral-less-effective-new-analysis/

 

Paxlovid is said to be considerably better, with an effectiveness rate of almost 90%, if taken within five days of the start of symptoms:

 

12 Things To Know About Paxlovid, the Latest COVID-19 Pill

 

"The drug, developed by Pfizer, appears to have a lot of positives: It had an 89% reduction in the risk of hospitalization and death in clinical trials, a number that was high enough to prompt the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to prioritize it over other COVID-19 treatments; it’s cheaper than many other COVID-19 drugs (it’s provided for free by the U.S. government while there is a public health emergency); and, perhaps most reassuring, it is expected to work against the Omicron variant.

 

“I think it is the beginning of a ‘game-changer,’” says Scott Roberts, MD, a Yale Medicine infectious diseases specialist. “It's really our first efficacious oral antiviral pill for this virus. It shows clear benefit, and it really can prevent hospitalization and death in people who are at high risk.”

 

https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/12-things-to-know-paxlovid-covid-19

 

However, Paxlovid also has substantial potential drug interaction issues:

 

“For starters, Paxlovid is 88 percent effective at preventing hospitalization and death. But it also has six pages of drug interactions, including interactions that may require a patient to hold, change, or reduce doses of other medications."

 

https://www.ama-assn.org/press-center/press-releases/ama-statement-administration-s-test-treat-covid-19-plan

 

"The FDA has published a fact sheet for health care providers on Paxlovid. Much more than a sheet, it’s actually 29 pages crammed with facts – and 12 of those pages list potential side effects.

 

Here’s the irony: Some of the preexisting conditions that make a COVID infection especially dangerous — such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart failure and arrhythmias — often are treated with multiple medicines that could also make Paxlovid dangerous."

 

https://www.inquirer.com/health/expert-opinions/paxlovid-pfizer-covid-19-heart-disease-20220202.html