"Regulators have taken notice after a study sparked fresh doubts over the usefulness of a Covid drug (molnupiravir) made by US pharma group Merck, raising questions about the costly procurement of antivirals during the peak of the pandemic."
https://www.ft.com/content/c4b3f696-327f-4a3a-8594-885599ae6f8d
@lymphomation @cyrilpedia
The folks at This Week in Virology discussed this recently.
@mzchem_Murphy @lymphomation Thanks for the heads, I love that podcast - it was a treat to speak with Racaniello for the #EMBOPodcast
https://www.embo.org/podcasts/lessons-of-epidemics-past-and-present/
I'll give it a listen, thanks.
Offhand, difficult for me to imagine how you would test for improved fitness of a virus or increased severity of viral infection without human trials.
@lymphomation @cyrilpedia They are a fascinating listen if you are interested in virology/human health. I started with This Week in Microbiology about 6 years ago, then started listening to the virology podcast during the pandemic. Here’s an open access link https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06649-6. I’d agree that if better options for treatment exist, we should use those. But a predictable change that doesn’t increase virulence, may be worth it in the short run if it saves lives.
Thanks, I'll give it a listen.
My concern is with approvals that pose a risk to the population at large without evidence of decreased virulence at the time of authorization.
I'm also not confident that what has been reported as it relates to that is conclusive - although how to assess virulence is not nearly in my area of expertise. : )
From the Discussion, confirming my bias. Thanks for sharing.
@cyrilpedia I'm a supporter of FDA generally ... its role is vital.
Given its known mutagenic mechanism of action and the availability of a safer and efficacious alternative (Paxlovid)... it's a mystery to me why this drug was authorized by #FDA .