In the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, an oral aniviral medication developed by Merck and Pfizer, two of the world’s most powerful pharmaceutical corporations, has shown promising results.
COVID-19 patients may benefit from the use of a simple medication.
Merck and Pfizer, both pharmaceutical behemoths, have reported encouraging results for oral medications; an antidepressant has also shown promise, potentially opening up a new chapter in the fight against the pandemic.
What exactly do these procedures accomplish?
To avoid more serious types of COVID-19 and, as a result, hospitalisation, these pills are taken orally as soon as the first symptoms of the illness appear.
This type of treatment has been sought since the onset of the global health crisis.
It works by limiting the virus’s ability to reproduce, thereby slowing the progression of the disease.
According to the clinical trials conducted by both companies, there was a significant reduction in the risk of hospitalisation.
This study discovered that taking molnupiravir with paxlovid reduced the risk of developing AIDS by 50%, but direct comparisons should be avoided due to differences in study procedures.
According to a study published in the Lancet Global Health journal in October by Brazilian researchers, an antidepressant called Fluvoxamine has shown potential effectiveness in reducing serious types of COVID-19.
What significance do they have?
If these medications are proven to be effective, it will be a huge step forward in the fight against COVID-19.
As a result, anti-virus vaccines would be improved.
Synthetic antibodies are the most commonly used type of treatment available today.
It’s also difficult to administer because these treatments are injected, which are typically used to treat people who already have severe disease symptoms.
Quickly prescribed pills can then be taken by the patient at home, freeing them to go about their daily lives.
Merck and Pfizer’s therapies, which require 10 doses over five days, have no known side effects.
According to Stephen Griffin, a virologist from the United Kingdom, these antivirals could usher in a new era of preventing the catastrophic consequences of SARS-CoV2 infection.
Are there any restrictions?
It has been difficult to adequately evaluate Merck and Pfizer’s medicines because they have only made statements and have not made clinical trial data available.
In September, expert Karine Lacombe warned that such pronouncements should be taken with a grain of salt until the findings are thoroughly investigated.
She asserted that pharmaceutical companies could profit from a “potentially large” market for these treatments.
However, there are some indications that Merck and Pfizer aren’t simply making empty promises.
They both completed their clinical trials earlier than expected due to positive results and approval from independent monitoring committees.
The facts about fluvoxamine are widely available, but they have not been without controversy.
Concerns have been raised that the authors did not only examine the number of hospitalizations, but also the frequency of prolonged emergency department stays.
They argue that this makes understanding the data more difficult.
When?
On Thursday, UK health officials approved the use of molnupiravir in people who are at high risk of developing a severe infection, such as the elderly or those with obesity or diabetes.
Health officials in the United States and the European Union are also conducting an urgent review of the medication.
The European Medicines Agency made this guarantee on Thursday, but no specific date was given.
Several countries, including the United States, have already ordered 1.7 million courses of molnupiravir.
The cost of the medication can be found in the US order.
A five-day course costs around $700, which equates to $1.2 billion.
Pfizer has not yet listed the price of paxlovid.
