Why is everyone crazy about the Merck anti Covid pill?
From the United States to Asia via Europe, many are looking with interest at the anti Covid pill from the pharmaceutical company Merck: what are the pros and cons of what could be the first antiviral drug against the virus?
The anti Covid pill molnupiravir, better known as Merck from the name of the US multinational that produces it, is going wild in Asia despite the fact that the sale has not yet been approved.
Meanwhile, the response of the Food and Drug Administration (Fda) is awaited, to which Merck has recently requested emergency authorization given the promising results of the drug.
WHAT IS THE ANTI COVID MERCK PILL
The Merck pill, developed together with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, is proposed for the treatment of Covid-19 in mild or moderate form in adults at risk of progression to severe forms and hospitalization.
The pill, experts say, must be taken for five days, four tablets a day, at home, without the need for hospitalization or administration under the vigilant medical supervision. Not insignificant aspect.
If licensed, it could be the first oral antiviral drug to treat Covid-induced disease.
HOW DOES IT WORK
Compared to the vaccines currently administered, the anti Covid pill was developed to introduce errors in the genetic code of the virus, preventing its duplication. By acting in this way, it inhibits the replication of many viruses – including Sars-CoV-2 – without calling into question the immune system.
Furthermore, the drug does not affect the highly mutagenic spike protein of the virus, and this should therefore guarantee constant efficacy regardless of the variants.
HOW PROMISING IS IT?
The submission of the authorization application to the FDA is based on the positive results of a planned interim review related to the Phase 3 Move-Out clinical trial.
The data show that molnupiravir has reduced the risk of hospitalization and death of about 50% of patients with Covid, which is why some experts believe that the pill could represent a turning point in the fight against the virus. Anthony Fauci himself, the White House chief health advisor, commenting on the efficacy results said they were "impressive" .
Furthermore, the drug has shown an important efficacy against the Gamma, Delta and Mu variants.
The request to the FDA "is a critical step towards the availability of molnupiravir for people who could benefit from an oral antiviral that can be taken at home shortly after diagnosis," said Wendy Holman, CEO of Ridgeback Biotherapeutics.
MERCK FORECASTS
Even before getting the response from the FDA, Merck said that, while assuming all the risks, to guarantee access to the treatment, it has started production of molnupiravir and intends to produce 10 million doses by the end of 2021 and a even greater number in 2022.
CAN IT BE AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE VACCINE?
While it is true that it represents a big step forward in the fight against Covid, the Merck pill cannot replace vaccines for several reasons.
First of all, effectiveness. However promising the results are, they are still very far from the efficacy of the serums which exceeds 90%. No less important is the cost. For each cycle of therapies, Corriere della Sera writes , about $ 700 will be required, an exorbitant figure compared to vaccines, which also have minimal and widely known side effects, as well as not needing an early diagnosis.
THE LATEST EVENTS
Merck said it has entered into a procurement agreement with the US government – for approximately 1.7 million doses (totaling $ 1.2 billion) after regulatory green light – and is entering into purchase agreements. and supply with other governments worldwide, always conditional on the drug being given the green light.
Asia is one of the areas of the world that looks with more interest to the pill, so much so that, according to CNN , there are at least eight countries and territories in the Asia-Pacific region that have already signed contracts or are in negotiations to produce licensed the drug.
WHICH COUNTRIES BRING ON MERCK
In the meantime, writes Ansa , the company Airfinity specialized in market analysis reveals that among the countries interested in the pill are New Zealand, Australia and South Korea, to which Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia would be added, writes Reuters . The European Union, in case of authorization by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), does not exclude the purchase of the pill.
Molnupiravir "really has the potential, (I repeat) the potential, to change the game a bit," said Rachel Cohen, executive director for North America of the nonprofit Drugs for Neglected Diseases.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/sanita/perche-sono-tutti-pazzi-per-la-pillola-merck-anti-covid/ on Mon, 18 Oct 2021 08:57:10 +0000.