Anti-Covid pill likely to get approved in India soon

Anti-Covid pill_1 &n

Drugs Controller General of India is reviewing the clinical data of molnupiravir - the world's first anti-Covid pill approved in the UK, for the treatment of Covid-19 in adults in India. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries is all set to introduce Merck Sharp Dohme and Ridgeback's molnupiravir under the brand name Molxvir.

“The recent authorisation of molnupiravir, licensed from MSD and Ridgeback, by the UK regulator is a positive step. In line with our consistent efforts to accelerate access to new drugs for COVID-19 treatment, we are gearing up to make Molxvir available to patients and healthcare providers across India at an economical price post-approval by DCGI,” Kirti Ganorkar, CEO at Sun Pharma India Business, said in a statement. The USA is also going through the data of molnupiravir.

Adults at risk of Covid can take this pill to avoid symptoms / hospitalisation. Experts did warn that anti-Covid pills are not alternatives to vaccines. The pill can be taken in first few days of Covid symptoms showing.

Molnupiravir - as a small molecule, does not need cold storage like messenger RNA vaccines. In the Phase 3 trial by Merck, Molnupiravir significantly reduced risk of hospitalisation / death by about 50% in a planned interim analysis of MOVe-OUT trial in at risk, non-hospitalised adult patients with mild-to-moderate Covid-19.

Based on participants with available viral sequencing information (around 40% of participants), molnupiravir demonstrated consistent efficacy through variants like Gamma, Delta and Mu.