Thread by @EricTopol

This could turn out to be one of the most important advances to counter Covid. Molnupiravir, a pill for 5 days (I'll nickname "M-pack") to markedly reduce hospitalization. Await details beyond press release, including safety
statnews.com/2021/10/01/mer… by @matthewherper @statnews

Molnupiravir is a broad spectrum anti-viral that achieves "lethal mutagenesis" of #SARSCoV2. Unlike remdesivir, it's a pill, it's not repurposed, had solid data from a Phase 2 trial supporting potency + safety vs Covid nature.com/articles/s4159… @nature The mechanism of action 👇

The fact that the new clinical trial was stopped by the Data and Safety Monitoring Board early because of overwhelming efficacy, deeming it unethical to proceed, would be considered a Eureka moment in the fight against Covid

A few additional points
—Entry criteria mild to moderate Covid
—8 deaths in the placebo group, 0 w/ M-pack
—Efficacy seen across multiple variants, including Delta
—I have a long history vs Merck (Vioxx) w/ a bias against this company (drug was made by Ridgeback Biotherapuetics)

Compare this with intravenous monoclonal antibodies in Phase 3 trial @NEJM this wk, a 71% reduction (4.6% vs 1.3%) hospitalization/death for outpatients w/ Covid < 7 days from symptom onset. nejm.org/doi/full/10.10…
M-pack trial much higher risk patients: 14.3% in placebo group

It is outrageous that Merck is charging the government $700 per 5-pill pack of this drug. And that the US has not negotiated it down to a fair price.
nytimes.com/2021/10/01/us/… by @RebeccaDRobbins
That companies continue to gouge in the midst of a pandemic is unconscionable