Hetero seeks emergency use nod for Merck’s COVID-19 | Fusion - WeRIndia

Many pharmaceutical companies are manufacturing drugs to treat COVID-19 patients and seek emergency approval from regulators to contain the spread.

Molnupiravir is an antiviral drug developed by American pharmaceutical companies Merck & Co. and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics for treating mild cases. In clinical trials, this experimental oral drug showed efficacy in reducing hospitalization. It also helped for faster recovery of patients when given.

Hence, Merck wanted to use its drug in India in association with Hetero Labs. It sought approval for emergency use for this drug to be used in India for treating mild cases of COVID-19.

Merck and its partner Ridgeback are conducting clinical trials of molnupiravir globally. These trials are in the late-stage. The data may be released in the fall of this year.

Merck associated with several Indian pharma companies in March and April to improve the production of its drug and enhance its availability to many people to fight against the virus.

Hetero Labs entered into a non-exclusive licensing agreement with Merck. This agreement helps the company to manufacture and supply molnupiravir to India after getting approval from drug regulators. Merck says that more than 100 developing counties can use the drug after getting approval or emergency use nod from their authorities.

Hetero Labs started phase-III trials on mild COVID-19 cases to test its efficacy and safety. The company said that molnupiravir was proved to be effective and safe in its late-stage trials when conducted at various hospital sites.

Patients were divided into two groups. One group was given standard care alone and another group was given molnupiravir along with standard care. Those who took the drug recovered faster and got negative RT PCR reports in fewer days than those given standard care alone. Hence, the company sought an emergency use nod from the authorities.

Image by Mohit Prateek from Pixahvie (Free for commercial use / CC0 Public Domain)

Image Reference: https://pixahive.com/photo/covid-19-vaccine-2/