Molnupiravir: A Drug for Covid-19 | 05 Nov 2021

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.