The investigation found that a combination of molnupiravir and baricitinib can treat COVID-19 infection even if it occurs by the Beta and Delta variants of the virus.
‘Molnupiravir is an antiviral drug that interferes with a part of the SARS-CoV-2 enzyme, which is used to make copies of its genetic material. It can treat SARS-CoV-2 infections caused by variants when given in combination with baricitinib, an anti-inflammatory drug.’
“Molnupiravir interferes with a part of the virus that is conserved across different variants, specifically, the enzyme that it uses to copy its genetic material for replication. It has a strong backbone drug candidate from which multiple combinations can be derived,” said Dr. Conrad Chan, laboratory director at the Defence Medical and Environmental Research Institute from DSO.
However, there is no data yet from clinical trials to support the efficacy of this drug combination in all phases of Covid-19 disease so, the team is now planning to conduct clinical trials for molnupiravir and its drug combinations probably on vaccinated individuals with mild to moderate disease.
Source: Medindia
