Molnupiravir holds promise in treatment of Covid-19

While coronavirus vaccines are coming up and being administered to millions of people across the world, an anti-viral drug invented to treat influenza may well hold great promise for Covid-19 treatment. Its name is Molnupiravir. 

MK 4482 or Molnupiravir has shown modest efficacy at the highest dose in outpatient Phase-II trial in a clinical study. A report says that the drug has no effect on hospitalized coronavirus patients, though. Phase-III results are awaited at this point of time. 

The drug is expected to be very useful to mitigate high-risk exposure to SARS-CoV-2. 

It may be noted that Remdesivir has already been used for treatment. Wrote Shmuel Shoham, a plasma researcher, “We have limited antiviral tools to treat COVID. mAb’s, convalescent plasma, remdesivir and hopefully, molnupiravir. We have got to keep working the problem to figure out how and where to use them and to develop more.”