Molnupiravir, an orally active antiviral drug initially developed to treat influenza, is now being evaluated in clinical trials to assess its efficacy against COVID-19. According to researchers from the University of North Carolina, molnupiravir is the first oral and direct-acting antiviral drug that effectively reduces nasopharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 infections and viral RNA levels. The findings of the study have been published on the preprint platform medRxiv. The study was a phase 2a trial including 202 outpatients with a confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and onset of symptoms within seven days of infection.
The participants were randomized in 1:1 ratio to receive 200 mg molnupiravir or matched placebo, or in 3:1 ratio to receive 400-800 mg molnupiravir or matched placebo. The drug was administered to the participants twice daily for five days. Antiviral activity, safety, and tolerability…
