Molnupiravir
 Molnupiravir  (drug)   | |
|---|---|
| Start | 2020 |
| New drug produced by Merck; to be used against COVID 19. | |
Molnupiravir (EIDD-2801) is a new experimental antiviral which is to be taken orally to combat a COVID 19 infection. There have been whistle-blowers and concerns about safety.
Development
The drug was developed at Emory University by the university's drug innovation company, Drug Innovation Ventures at Emory (DRIVE). It was then acquired by Miami-based company Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, who later partnered with Merck & Co. to develop the drug further.
Rick Bright was removed as head of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) before the approval of the drug. He later submitted a whistleblower complaint asserting that Ridgeback had pressured BARDA to provide funding to manufacture Molnupiravir despite Bright's concerns that similar drugs in its class have mutagenic properties..[1]
Preliminary trial results
On 1 October 2021, the BBC reported that the pill can halve risk of hospitalisation with COVID, according to interim trials.[2]
An analysis of 775 patients in the study found:
- 7.3% of those given molnupiravir were hospitalised( that compares with 14.1% of patients who were given a placebo)
- There were no deaths in the molnupiravir group, but eight patients who were given a placebo in the trial later died of Covid
