MOLNUPIRAVIR: A DRUG FOR COVID-19

WHY IN THE NEWS?

Recently, it is claimed that Molnupiravir, an oral drug, can cut the risk of hospitalisation in Covid-19 patients by half, in phase 3 trials.

• In India, the Optimus Group recently announced the results of phase 3 clinical trials, which found 91.5% of patients given the drug tested RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction) negative.

Molnupiravir:

• It belongs to a class of broad-spectrum antiviral drugs called nucleoside analogues.
  • They act by interfering with the function of viral RNA (Ribonucleic Acids) polymerases – which are enzymes that make new viral RNA in infected cells.
  • RNA is a polymer of ribonucleotides and an important biological macromolecule that is present in all biological cells.
    • It is principally involved in the synthesis of proteins, carrying the messenger instructions from Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), which itself contains the genetic instructions required for the development and maintenance of life.
  • It works by causing viruses to make errors when copying their own RNA, introducing mutations that inhibit replication.
    • It was initially invented as a drug for the influenza virus.

Mechanism:

• These drugs work by preventing the process of replication of the virus inside human cells.
  • A virus is a biological agent that can self-replicate inside a host cell. The infected cells by viruses may produce thousands of new copies of the original virus at an extraordinary rate.
• It alters critical enzymes that were necessary to the virus for replicating in the human body cells.

As of now, the Emergency Use Authorization is awaited for the drug but currently, it can be administered as a pill in a 5-day regimen.