Oral coronavirus drug approved in UK

A COVID-19 antiviral drug jointly developed by German drug maker Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on treating infectious diseases, has been approved for the first time by the UK pharmaceutical regulator.

The British Medicines and Medical Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has verified the safety and effectiveness of the oral drug Molnupiravir that inhibits the proliferation of COVID-19 and has approved it. This is the first time that an oral drug for COVID-19 has been approved by regulatory authorities.

Molnupiravir is recommended for use in COVID-19 patients with mild to moderate symptoms or in people with risk factors for developing serious diseases such as obesity, advanced age, diabetes and heart disease. MHRA also cites clinical data and recommends administering molnupiravir within 5 days of symptom onset in patients who test positive for COVID-19.

Molnupiravir is designed to cause an error in the COVID-19 genetic code that causes COVID-19, and it is recommended to take it twice a day for 5 days. Although a drug equivalent to molnupiravir has been pointed out in animal experiments with congenital disorders, Merck says the safety of molnupiravir has been confirmed in animal experiments. However, data on this animal experiment have not yet been released.

To combat the COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed more than 5.2 million people worldwide, the focus has so far been on vaccines as a treatment. However, Molnupiravir, developed by Kirg, can be administered in the early stages of COVID-19 to halve the death rate and severity of the disease in people at risk of aggravation.

The UK National Health Service NHS Director Steven Fowes said he was about to face one of the most difficult winters to date. In addition, he added that if the clinical effect of reducing hospitalization and mortality cannot be confirmed and the cost-effectiveness is considered to be high, there is a possibility that a broader deployment will occur.

Public Health Minister Maggie Throup, who is leading the UK’s COVID-19 vaccine introduction, said the government and NHS-wide nationwide investigation into the approval of molnupiravir is currently working to provide treatment with molnupiravir to patients. .

For reference, the UK government has a contract with Merck to secure 480,000 Molnupiravir, but it is unclear when it will be delivered. Related information can be found here.

Meanwhile, a team of researchers from Oxford University in the UK announced that they have identified a gene that is likely to double the risk of dying from COVID-19.

According to the announcement, it is a gene called LZTFL1 that has the potential to double the risk of death from COVID-19. Although the mechanism of action of LZTFL1 has not been fully elucidated, according to the research team, there is a defense mechanism that the viral receptor ACE2 on the surface of epithelial cells decreases when infected with COVID-19. In the case of an older brother, there is a high possibility that it will not function because of some factors.

It is said that 60% of people with high-risk LZTFL1 ancestry have South Asian ancestry, but only 15% of white males of European ancestry and 2% of African or Caribbean blacks. The researchers argued that it could be a clue to explain why infections are particularly high in some ethnic groups or in South Asia. However, as there were many black infections during the first wave of infection, factors such as occupation, underlying disease, and place of residence also play a major role, so it is revealed that genes are not the only factor that can influence the infection rate.

The research team argued that LZTFL1 is a factor involved in COVID-19 infection and has nothing to do with the immune system, and that vaccination is highly effective for high-risk people. The high-risk type said that if the person in question was of the low-risk type, there is a 50% chance that this situation would not have occurred when considering the situation worsened by Corona 19.

Meanwhile, the report said that even considering socio-economic factors, there is a 50% higher risk of infection in the UK for people from India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, and the explanation that the cause of this disparity is genetics is plausible. He pointed out that the racial genetic data used in the study was biased towards being of European descent, with 85% of the data. A reasonable conclusion is that it is desirable to use a database that is free from racial bias. Related information can be found here.