1/5 Many thanks @JohnBerman @brikeilarcnn for hosting me @NewDay on breaking news that the Merck & co drug molnupiravir looking promising as a small molecule antiviral drug for Rx of COVID19 to reduce hospitalizations and deaths. Merck applying for EUA. Exciting but some caveats
2/5 first good news that drug was developed as a ribonucleoside inhibitor @EmoryUniversity @GeorgiaStateU for influenza to interfere with virus replication, unlike ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine this one actually makes sense that it could work vs COVID19 ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…
3/5 one concern that it introduces virus mutations or potential mutagenic probably means it won’t be recommended in pregnancy. I seem to remember my good colleague @RickABright had a concern about this drug when he was at BARDA so maybe he can comment. Also important to remember
4/5 this is no substitute for vaccination. It’s not a miracle cure but a companion tool. So get vaccinated. Another issue is emerging drug resistance. If this is used indiscriminately this can be a problem with antiviral drugs
5/5 Finally there’s access. Unlike mRNA vaccines which can take years to learn how to produce at scale under a quality umbrella, like ARTs this one is far more straightforward. Likely Cipla or equivalent can make it now. I believe Merck & Co discussing tiered pricing.
6/5 But because of resistance issue I worry about making this available OTC, also counterfeits. I understand that Pfizer and Roche also developing similar antiviral drugs for COVID19. Anyway those are my first impressions on breaking news
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
