Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Nov.11: Molnupiravir, an antiviral medication developed by Merck and used to treat mild-to-moderate COVID-19, is expected to receive ‘Emergency Use Authorization ‘within days,’ according to Dr. Ram Vishwakarma, Chairman of the CSIR’s Covid Strategy Group. He went on to say that the other experimental COVID-19 antiviral tablet, Pfizer’s Paxlovid, would take a little longer to obtain approved.
Despite the fact that the world’s population has relied solely on vaccines to combat the fatal disease, the two antiviral medications will make a difference, and “when we move from pandemic to endemic, these are the ones that will be more essential than vaccination,” according to Dr. Vishwakarma.
In addition, he stated that the anti-COVID medicines ‘may be regarded the final nail in the coffin of the virus by science.’
“I believe Molnupiravir will already be available to us,” he continued. The drugmaker is sitting with five companies… I believe we will have Molnupiravir’s permission any day now.”
“So already SECs are looking at it,” he added, adding that Molnupiravir’s data has been “sitting with the regulator” in India even before it was certified by the UK drugs regulator. And I believe they will now receive faster approval. As a result, it’s safe to assume that a decision on Merck’s drug approval will be reached within the next month.”
Molnupiravir is the first oral antiviral medication to be developed for the treatment of Covid-19 patients with symptoms. This medication can be taken at home and is exclusively for individuals who are at risk of developing severe COVID-19 symptoms or need to be admitted to the hospital. Initial research on the drug shown that it can reduce hospitalizations by half. According to reports, this medicine is given to individuals with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 symptoms within 5 days of the onset of symptoms. The Merck medicine disrupts the coronavirus by interfering with its genetic coding, which is a novel approach to virus disruption.
It’s an antiviral drug that minimises symptoms and speeds recovery, which might be game-changing in terms of reducing hospital caseloads and preventing outbreaks in poorer nations with shaky health systems. It would also support the pandemic’s two-pronged approach, which includes both treatment and prevention, notably through vaccinations.