covid-19 pill – BioQuakes

In a recent clinical trial to test Merck’s Covid-19 pill, Scientists have found that the drug showed early signs of preventing hospitalization and death from the coronavirus in people at high risk of severe disease. Merck’s Covid-19 pill would be taken orally to prevent the replication of certain RNA viruses to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The drug molnupiravir was the driving factor of this pill that would allow it to show such high results. The antiviral medication works by making mutations in viral RNA so that viruses are rendered noninfectious. Such mutations happen throughout the virus’s genetic genome.

A 48 percent reduction in the relative risk of hospitalization or death. Despite this, on November 26, Merck announced in a news release that when all the available data from the trial was in, the relative reduction risk fell to 30 percent. After being reviewed by the FDA, the scientists determined that the placebo group and the molnupiravir group were too similar to declare the drug effective. They came to a 13-10 split decision vote about whether the drug should be immediately sent out for emergency use. The vote and debate reflected a storm of uncertainty about the drug’s efficacy and who should use it. Not only was there a debate, but the panel also queried whether the drug could lead to an even more dangerous version of the coronavirus and whether it can cause growth delays in children or mutation in human DNA. The drug is an artificial RNA building block, a nucleotide, that can mimic cytosine and uracil bases. Some enzymes in human cells might convert those RNA subunits to a DNA building block, which may lead to mutations in human DNA, especially in blood cells.

“The potential for this drug to drive some very challenging variants into the public is of major, major concern,” said James Hildreth, an immunologist, and president of Meharry Medical College in Nashville. Merck representatives noted that it is doubtful because infectious viruses were no longer detected after five days of taking the drug dosage. In one of their studies, the company found seven patients who had changes in the coronavirus’s spike protein after taking molnupiravir. Still, there was no evidence that the viruses spread to other people.

The question of whether Merck’s Covid-19 Pill will work is still very unknown due to the symptoms it may cause and the side effects that come along with it. The question may never be answered due to the progressively changing varients of the coronavirus. We should continue testing this drug and modifying it to have the best outcome and the least amount of side effects. What do you think about these new drugs? What next steps should scientists take to make it available to the public? Should we release it to the public?

New Covid-19 Pill! Will it work?

By sydeousmembrane

On December 17, 2021

In Student Post

In a study conducted by Tina Saey, she looked at Merck’s Covid- 19 pill Molnupiravir and how it is affecting hospitalization rates of Covid-19. Molnupiravir, “an antiviral drug that can be taken at home” is the first medicine that can be taken orally that is approved to help fight off Covid-19. The drug is typically administered to patients who have mild to moderate Covid within five days of their symptoms appearing. Molnupiravir has been tested several times and is now waiting on the FDA for formal approval. This new pill could be a game-changer, but will it really be as great as it seems?

Ms. Saey states that “finding an early treatment hasn’t been easy”, so when Molnupiravir came around experts praised its development. Initially, the pill showed great signs of preventing hospitalizations and death from Covid-19. The results were so promising, a 48% decrease in hospitalizations, that the trial ended early so that the pill might become available to the public faster. However, when all the data was collected and analyzed the reduction in hospitalization rate dropped to 30%. The unexplained decrease happened when participants in the placebo group were no longer experiencing severe symptoms. Due to the decrease in reported effectiveness, the FDA’s antimicrobial drugs advisory committee came to a split 13-10 decision on whether the drug should be available for emergency use.

The main concern for authorizing Molnupiravir is that the pill could create even more dangerous versions of the Covid- 19 coronavirus. The drug works by making mutations in the RNA. This is when a change occurs that affects nucleic acids, the building blocks of RNA. A handful of these mutations could land in the spike protein. Spike proteins interact with the cell receptors located on the host cell; in terms of Covid-19 it helps the coronavirus break into cells. The spike protein could also burst into other proteins making the virus more transmittable. James Hildreth, an immunologist stated that, “the potential for this drug to drive some very challenging variants into the public is of major, major concern.” Although this is a possibility it seems unlikely because, after five days of usage, infectious viruses in participants taking Molnupiravir were no longer detectable.

Spike Protein

Overall, there is much promise but also notable concerns to the new drug Molnupiravir. I believe that this new medicine, even with its downsides, could save hundreds of thousands of lives. As Ms. Saey states, “a 30 percent reduction in hospitalizations and deaths is worth giving the drug temporary authorization.”

How Does the New COVID-19 Pill Work? Has it Proven to be Effective?

By sydoplasm

On December 14, 2021

In Student Post

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected so many lives across the world. Many people wonder when society can return back to “normal life”. While vaccines are a great and effective way to begin the process of protecting people against SARS-CoV-2, a professional must administer the shot which may be time consuming and immunizations require more resources than other medications such as pills. Recently there has been more positive research on a new pill that helps the body fight SARS-CoV-2. This pill is a game changer to the future of the COVID-19 pandemic as it can be taken at home rather than vaccinations which must be administered by a healthcare professional.

A new study shows that an at-home pill cuts the chance of hospitalization of newly diagnosed SARS-CoV-2 patients in half. This pill is comprised of an antiviral drug called molnupiravir; molnupiravir is the first oral medication proven to be successful in reducing the viral COVID-19 RNA. The pill was tested in a pool of subjects who were at high risk of developing severe illness once diagnosed with COVID-19. Of the subjects, 377 patients received the placebo and 385 patients received the molnupiravir pill. Within 29 days of beginning the trial, 14.1% of patients who received the placebo were hospitalized, eight of which died. Within this same time frame, 7.3% of patients who received the pill were hospitalized, none of which died. It is important to note that not only did the pill decrease hospitalizations by about half, but this medication also worked for gamma, delta, and mu variants of SARS-CoV-2.

Once the SARS-CoV-2 virus has entered the body’s cells, it replicates its RNA. The complete virus particles exit the cell and begin infecting other cells which begins the virus’s rapid spread throughout the body. As we learned in AP Biology, helper T cells secrete cytokines which activate the adaptive immune response . However, when too many cells are infected there are a lot more helper T cells secreting cytokines into the bloodstream; this is referred to as a cytokine storm. A cytokine storm can result in dead tissue or damage to organs and is an unfortunate COVID-19 complication. However, this pill works to disrupt the SARS-CoV-2 RNA reproduction. Once the molnupiravir drug is absorbed into the virus infected cells, it is converted into defected nucleotides(building blocks of RNA). When the virus attempts to replicate, it is unable to because its genetic code is defective. Because it can not replicate, the amount of virus in the body will remain low. Due to the low SARS-CoV-2 viral count, the virus is less harmful which is made evident in the study summarized above.

It is evident that this pill is effective and can save many lives. Do you think this could be a turning point in the COVID-19 pandemic, leading the beginning of life as we knew it before March 2020?

BioQuakes

AP Biology class blog for discussing current research in Biology

Tag: covid-19 pill

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