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An orally administered drug that had previously tested positive for the transmission of influenza viruses in animals has now also been shown to be effective in stopping the spread of the novel coronavirus (SARS-Cov-2) in ferrets. In practice, if the results are also confirmed in humans, molnupiravir can stop the transmission of the virus within 24 hours.
The findings come from a study by a team from Georgia State University, which was published in the journal Nature Microbiology.
“This is the first demonstration of an oral drug available to rapidly stop the transmission of SARS-CoV-2,” said Richard Plemper, one of the study’s authors. “MK-4482 / EIDD-2801 can be a game changer,” he added in an article posted on the University’s website.
According to the same source, since treatment with Molnupiravir can be started quickly, it can have a triple benefit: preventing the patient from progressing to a more serious COVID-19 situation, reducing the infectious phase, and alleviating the emotional and socioeconomic pressure of prolonged isolation. . and quickly stop local outbreaks.
“Therapeutic treatment with MK-4482 / EIDD-2801 twice daily significantly decreased the burden of SARS-CoV-2 in the upper respiratory tract and completely suppressed the spread to the untreated animals,” the researchers noted.
In the study, infected ferrets were treated with the drug and placed in cages with healthy animals. None of the healthy animals were infected, unlike the ferrets that were caged with other infected ferrets that received a placebo.
The ferrets were chosen because these animals and others in the weasel family “transmit the virus efficiently with minimal clinical signs, which is similar to spread among the young adult human population,” the study reads. In practice, ferrets quickly transmit the virus but do not develop the disease seriously, said another of the study’s authors, Robert Cox.
MK-4482 / EIDD-2801, or malnupiravir, is already in phase II / III clinical trials against SARS-CoV-2.
