What is Covid Pill?
“We long to return to normal, but normal led to this. To avert future pandemics that we are coming, we must grapple with all the ways normal failed us. We have to build something better.” – Ed Yong
COVID 19 – By this point of time, all of us have heard a lot about Covid 19, it’s various variants, risks and what not. Forget about having enough knowledge about it, I’m sure we all had first-hand experience with it by now and have lost some most precious people to it. But it seems that Coronavirus or Covid 19 never fails to amaze us because it keeps on coming up with something or the other.
Not only has the Covid 19 disrupted our personal, healthy lives but also economic and social life as well. It has locked us up in the confined spaces of our homes, with everything turning into virtual. Right from our classes to offices to even weddings. With everything being disrupted and destruction everywhere it was very important to find out a solution for making the situation better. And so our scientists and doctors did that very thing, they found out vaccines for Coronavirus. But only vaccine is not enough and one would need more than that to fight against the virus, so many pharmaceutical companies have released some medicines for the same as well, and we shall look into the details of one such medicine today known as Covid Pill in our article.
And today here, we are going to talk two different Covid pills known as the Paxlovid and Molnupiravir. And we shall take a look at all the basic details regarding the aforementioned two pills.
What do these Covid Pills do?
These Covid Pills reduce the risk of hospitalization and fatality for those who are infected with the Coronavirus.
How does Molnupiravir work?
It is important to note that the pill is meant to be taken after you have symptoms of COVID-19. In a clinical study, Molnupiravir was given to study participants in four doses twice a day for five days - starting within five days after patients experienced the first symptoms of COVID-19.
When a drug enters your bloodstream, it blocks the ability of the SARS-CoV-2 virus to multiply, explains Dr. Shaw.
Coronavirus uses RNA as its gene. The structure of Molnupiravir is similar to that of the nucleosides (or chemical building blocks) used to make viral RNA. And the drug Molnupiravir acts by binding to RNA as it is synthesized.
"This causes many changes, or alterations in the RNA genetic system, introduced by the RNA virus," said Dr. Shaw. "
How does Paxlovid work?
Paxlovid is a combination of the investigative antiretroviral drug Pfizer PF-07321332 and low dose ritonavir, a traditional antiretroviral drug used to treat HIV. Treatment disrupts the replication of SARS-CoV-2 in the body by binding to 3CL-like protease, an enzyme essential for viral function and reproduction.
According to an interim analysis, Paxlovid reduced the risk of Covid-19-related hospital stay or death by 89% in those who received treatment within three days of symptoms starting. The drug was found to be very effective - only 1% of patients receiving Paxlovid were hospitalized on the 28th day compared to 6.7% of placebo participants - so that its Phase II / III trial was completed early and submission of controls to the FDA was filed faster than expectations. In addition, while 10 deaths were reported in the placebo arm, none occurred among participants receiving Paxlovid.
Who will have access to Molnupiravir or is given to?
Merck wants the EUA with its pill for high-risk adults. In a clinical trial, molnupiravir was given mainly to people over the age of 60 or those who were younger but had other conditions that put them at greater risk for side effects from COVID-19, such as diabetes, heart disease, or obesity. The FDA will also decide whether it should be given to immunized people — only uninvited people who are put to the test.
Who will have access to Paxlovid or is given to?
In early November, and even before the drug was approved, the UK purchased 250,000 Paxlovid courses. The US also has high-profile defence programs and according to media reports, Biden executives are expected to purchase 10 million pills.
Pfizer says he has entered into early bargaining agreements with several countries, including Israel - but as rich countries are determined to take the most promising Covid-19 drugs, there is concern that poorer nations will remain as they had the coronavirus vaccine. .
In an effort to expand global reach on Paxlovid, Pfizer has signed an agreement with the United Nations-backed Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) to allow generic manufacturers to supply copies of the drug in 95 low- and middle-income countries. The drug manufacturer said the treatment would be provided with an integrated pricing model, which would see high- and middle-income countries pay more than low-income countries, who would be charged non-profits.
Despite this, Pfizer's purchase plans were still able to see certain countries left without reliable access to Paxlovid. The company agreement with MPP is similar to Merck's, which was signed last month, which seems to leave most of Latin America and the Caribbean behind.
How is Molnupiravir similar to Paxlovid?
Both Pfizer’s Paxlovid pills and Merck’s Molnupiravir are very beneficial when taken within five days of symptoms starting.
However, not all antimicrobial efforts have been successful. The Covid-19 antiretroviral drug developed jointly by Roche and Atea Pharmaceuticals recently failed to meet its main target in the Phase II trial, and Atea has since announced the strategic partnership between the companies will be terminated.
It is not just the antivirals that promise Covid-19 treatment. Drug manufacturers also investigate monoclonal antibodies, bind to certain antigens and command the immune system to destroy the virus.
Monoclonal antibody therapies from Eli Lilly, Regeneron and GlaxoSmithKline have been granted US regulatory approval for Covid-19 treatment. However, the FDA has revoked Lilly's approval of the use of bamlanivimab monotherapy - one of the antibodies in the cocktail-containing etesevimab - because it did not work against the emerging strains of SARS-CoV-2.
Although all three immune suppressants have been shown to be effective, they require simultaneous injection, which means that antiviral pills - which can be taken at home - are much easier.
In addition to being more powerful, Paxlovid may encounter fewer security questions than its antiviral competitor. Some experts have expressed concern that the action of Molnupiravir against Covid-19 - which mimics RNA molecules to induce viral mutations - may also introduce harmful mutations into human DNA. Paxlovid, a different type of antiviral known as a protease inhibitor, did not show any signs of "mutagenic DNA interaction", Pfizer said.
Thus, one can see that both the Covid pills are medicines used against the Coronavirus, which helps in reducing the risk of hospitalization and fatality. Although these pills have proven to be quite effective in the treatment of Coronavirus, it still doesn’t allow one person to be unvaccinated. Vaccination is the key to life in the era of Coronavirus. And in order to stay healthy and alive one needs to take vaccines, as well as maintain all the necessary precautions. Because even after following everything no one assures you of the fact that you will not be infected but still always remember “Precaution is better than cure.”
Ref: 9 Things You Need To Know About the New COVID-19 Pill > News > Yale Medicine
Paxlovid: what we know about Pfizer’s Covid-19 pill (pharmaceutical-technology.com)