What is the Covid-19 antiviral pill?
Earlier this month the UK medicines regulator, MHRA, approved the first pill to treat the symptoms of coronavirus. With life feeling more normal by the day but case rates remaining high, this is a breakthrough for the treatment of the virus at home.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, vaccines have always been the golden ticket out of the pandemic. Now, Molnupiravir has been shown to cut the risk of hospitalisation or death by half, but how does it work?
Originally designed to treat flu, the pill is the first treatment for Covid-19 that doesn’t have to be injected or given with a drip. The medication is going to be given to people who have recently been diagnosed with Covid-19 who are more vulnerable to the virus.
This means that the elderly and those living with existing health conditions can treat from home at an early stage of the disease. So, they are less likely to have to be treated in a hospital which is better for their health and eases pressure on the NHS. Patients will be prescribed the medicine after experiencing symptoms of the virus and will have to take them twice a day for five days.
How does the pill work?
The medication weakens and enzyme that the Covid-19 uses to make copies of itself. By targeting this particular part of the virus, the medication slows the spread of coronavirus in the body.
Scientists believe that because the medication works in this way it will also be effective for the treatment of new variants. Also, the 775-person strong clinical trial was carried out in numerous countries and delivered the same results, showing that it is effective against the highest risk variants Gamma, Delta and Mu.
What happened on the trial?
The global trial was carried out by the pharmaceutical company Merk and found that Molnupiravir prevented hospital admission or death from COVID-19 by approximately 50%.
The trial saw a group of participants who had experienced symptoms of Covid-19 in the previous five days take the medication or a placebo. Every participant also had at least one risk factor including obesity, heart disease and or diabetes.
385 patients took the antiviral drug and only 28 were taken to the hospital with Covid-19. Out of the people on the placebo, 53 people were admitted. Also, 8 of the participants taking the placebo died of the virus whereas none of the patients taking Molnupiravir died.
What are the next steps?
The UK has agreed to purchase 480,000 courses of the medication which will be used in a national study to test its efficacy. Once this is carried out the decision will be made about whether the UK buys more courses.
Find out more about the new treatment by reading Merck’s news release.
If you want to find out more about coronavirus, our Covid-19 newsletter is a great resource!
Information contained in this Articles page has been written by talkhealth based on available medical evidence. The content however should never be considered a substitute for medical advice. You should always seek medical advice before changing your treatment routine. talkhealth does not endorse any specific products, brands or treatments.
Information written by the talkhealth team
Last revised: 10 November 2021
Next review: 10 November 2024
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