{"id":47407,"date":"2021-11-23T10:00:31","date_gmt":"2021-11-23T15:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.singlecare.com\/blog\/?p=47407"},"modified":"2023-09-27T11:33:24","modified_gmt":"2023-09-27T15:33:24","slug":"molnupiravir-covid-pill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.singlecare.com\/blog\/news\/molnupiravir-covid-pill\/","title":{"rendered":"What you need to know about molnupiravir, aka \u2018the COVID pill\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

CORONAVIRUS UPDATE: As experts learn more about the novel coronavirus, news and information changes. For the latest on the COVID-19 pandemic, please visit the <\/span><\/i>Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/span><\/i><\/a> (CDC).<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

What is molnupiravir?<\/a> | Dose<\/a> | Side effects<\/a> | Restrictions<\/a> | Availability<\/a> | Where to buy molnupiravir<\/a> | Cost<\/a> | Other COVID treatments<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

A game-changing COVID pill is <\/span>now available<\/span><\/a> in the United States for certain adults who are at high risk for developing severe symptoms from COVID-19. Molnupiravir is an antiviral medication for COVID-19 co-developed by the pharmaceutical companies Merck & Co and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics. It is also licensed for use in the United Kingdom. It received an emergency use authorization from the CDC on Dec. 23, 2021, and it\u2019s the second authorized oral antiviral treatment for COVID-19. The first was Paxlovid. Experts say that the drug could be a powerful weapon in the world\u2019s battle against the virus.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What is molnupiravir?<\/h2>\n

The COVID medication molnupiravir has been studied for many years for its activity against several RNA viruses, including influenza, and studies of its clinical use have been redirected to treat moderate COVID-19. It is a ribonucleoside analog that impairs multiplying of SARS-CoV-2 in your body after infection. It was originally developed by Emory University in Atlanta. Research on molnupiravir suggests the COVID pill is effective against mutations of COVID-19 that the CDC classifies as \u201cvariants of concern,\u201d including the Delta, Gamma, and Mu mutations.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen molnupiravir enters your bloodstream, it inhibits the ability of the SARS-CoV-2 virus to replicate,\u201d says <\/span>Robert Glatter, MD<\/span><\/a>, an emergency medicine physician at <\/span>Lenox Hill Hospital<\/span><\/a> in New York. \u201cThe virus uses RNA as its genetic material. The structure of molnupiravir resembles the nucleosides, or chemical building blocks, used to make the virus\u2019s RNA. The drug works by incorporating itself into the RNA as it\u2019s being synthesized.\u201d Then, when the virus tries to form viral proteins, there are too many mutations for COVID-19 to optimally function.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dosage<\/h3>\n

The current recommended dosage for molnupiravir is 800 mg taken orally twice a day for five days.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Molnupiravir is used for non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients within five days of symptom onset. <\/span>Current research<\/span><\/a> from the MOVe-OUT trial indicates that the treatment is most effective when taken at early symptom onset of the virus. The study showed a reduction in the risk of severe illness requiring hospitalization and\/or death from 9.7% in those receiving placebo to 6.8% in those receiving molnupiravir. This equates to a reduction in the absolute risk of hospitalization and\/or death by 3%, and the relative risk by 30%.<\/span><\/p>\n

The clinical trial included patients with at least one factor for increased risk of severe infection, such as those greater than 60 years of age, but “future data will determine whether it may also be used as post exposure prophylaxis (preventive treatment) in relation to SARS-CoV-2,” Dr. Glatter says.<\/span> The <\/span>MOVe-AHEAD<\/span><\/a> study, a global, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 3 study is ongoing toto evaluate the safety and efficacy of the drug in preventing the spread of COVID-19 within households\u2014a form of post-exposure prophylaxis.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Side effects<\/h3>\n

\u201cIn the [MOVe-OUT] phase 3 clinical trial with molnupiravir, the incidence of any adverse event was comparable in the molnupiravir and placebo groups [30% and 33%, respectively],\u201d says Javeed Siddiqui, MD, MPH, co-founder and chief medical officer at <\/span>TeleMed2U<\/span><\/a> in California.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Though no serious adverse side effects were noted in the study, the following common side effects of molnupiravir were <\/span>noted<\/span><\/a>:<\/span><\/p>\n