Phase III trials of Covid pill Molnupiravir positive, no fatalities recorded, says pharma firm Hetero

Indian pharmaceutical company Hetero announced the results of the Phase III trials of its Covid pill Movfor (Molnupiravir) on Saturday.

Indian pharmaceutical company Hetero announced the results of the Phase III trials of its Covid pill Movfor (Molnupiravir) on Saturday. The results showed that Molnupiravir, along with Standard of Care (SOC), reduced the risk of Covid-19 hospitalisation by over 65 per cent compared to SOC alone.

The findings were presented as an Oral Abstract at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) which was held virtually from February 12 to February 16,

Early viral clearance (negative RT-PCR results) and significant clinical improvement were observed within five days of administering the antiviral drug. There were no fatalities reported during the study.

In the Phase III trials, one of the studies included 1,218 Covid patients with oxygen saturation level above 93 per cent and Covid-19 symptoms as per ICMR Covid-19 guidelines.

The study enrolled eligible patients within five days of onset of symptoms, who were given Molnupiravir capsules 800 mg twice daily along with Standard of Care (SOC) or SOC alone for five days.

The standard of care medication was administered in accordance to the guidelines set by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for Covid patients.

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