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The pharmaceutical giant Merck and a US company announced on Saturday advances in the development of an oral drug against COVID-19. Its antiviral, which is being tested, has had positive effects in reducing viral load.
Company Merck dropped development of two potential COVID-19 vaccines in late January, but continues to research two treatments for the disease. One of these drugs is molnupiravir, developed together with the American company Ridgeback Bio.
The drug significantly reduced the viral load in patients after five days of treatment, the US company announced this Saturday, during a meeting with specialists in infectious diseases.
“Knowing that there is an unmet need for antiviral treatment for SARS-CoV-2, these preliminary results encourage us,” said Wendy Painter, Ridgeback Biotherapeutics medical director, in a statement.
Phase 2 trials (studies have three phases prior to potential commercialization) were conducted in 202 outpatients with symptomatic COVID-19. There were no safety alerts and “of the four serious incidents reported, none were considered related to the study drug,” the company said.
Flu medications such as oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza) are sometimes prescribed for seasonal flu, but research is struggling to find an antiviral against COVID-19.
The results of this study, that is, a more rapid decrease in viral load in people with early-stage COVID-19 who received molnupiravir, “are promising,” said William Fischer, one of the study directors and professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina. , reports AFP, absorbed by Agerpres.
“If the results are reinforced with more studies, it could have important consequences in terms of public health, in the context in which the coronavirus continues to spread and evolve in the world,” added the expert.
Merck is also working on a treatment called MK-711. Early results from clinical trials show a more than 50% reduction in the risk of death or respiratory failure in hospitalized patients with moderate to severe forms of COVID-19, the group announced in late January.
Editor: Luana Pavaluca
