Molnupiravir is a new antiviral drug being researched for its potential to treat COVID-19. Research so far shows that molnupiravir has a fairly high effectiveness and relatively mild side effects in treating COVID-19.
Molnupiravir was originally developed at Emory University, United States, to treat influenza. However, now the effectiveness and safety of molnupiravir as a drug for COVID-19 due to Corona virus infection is being tested.
Because it is still in the clinical trial stage, the permit for emergency use of the drug molnupiravir is still not available and has not been officially issued, either by the FDA or BPOM. This drug is also not yet available in Indonesia.
How the drug Molnupiravir for COVID-19 works
Antiviral drugs that are currently the treatment of choice for COVID-19 are favipiravir and remdesivir . However, the use of these drugs is still limited to hospitalized patients with severe symptoms or mild-moderate symptoms with a history of comorbid diseases .
Meanwhile, molnupiravir is a new antiviral drug developed specifically to treat mild to moderate COVID-19 patients.
This drug was created to reduce the severity of COVID-19 and prevent its complications, while reducing the risk of transmitting the Corona virus.
Molnuporavir works by interfering with the activity of the Corona virus RNA enzyme so that it can inhibit the proliferation of the virus. After that, the Corona virus will be eradicated by the patient's immune system until it is completely destroyed.
That is why molnupiravir is considered effective for controlling the amount of virus in the body of people with COVID-19 and improving the patient's condition.
Molnupiravir Clinical Trial Results for COVID-19
Before being declared feasible and safe to use to prevent or treat certain diseases, a new drug or vaccine needs to be studied through phased clinical trials, namely phase I, II, and III clinical trials. So is molnupiravir.
Data from the results of phase I and II clinical trials show that molnupiravir is safe to use and quite effective in reducing the amount of Corona virus in patients with mild COVID-19.
Furthermore, preliminary results of phase III clinical trials show that molnupiravir is also able to reduce the need for hospitalization and reduce the risk of death by about 50%, especially in mild to moderate COVID-19 patients. This drug also has not been seen to cause serious side effects.
Because the clinical research results so far are quite good, molnupiravir is considered to have high potential for use in the treatment of COVID-19 disease.
However, more complete data is still needed to ensure the effectiveness and safety of this drug. Therefore, phase III clinical trials of molnupiravir are still ongoing.
The development of new antiviral drugs, including molnupiravir, is an important step in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, keep in mind that to reduce the transmission rate of COVID-19, you still have to comply with health protocols , namely by frequently washing your hands with water and soap or hand sanitizer , wearing a mask when doing activities outside the home, keeping a distance from other people, avoiding crowds, and get the COVID-19 vaccine .
If you still have questions about COVID-19 treatment, including the drug molnupiravir for COVID-19, you can chat directly with your doctor on the ALODOKTER application. In this application, you can also make an appointment with a doctor at the hospital.
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