Advance in anti-covid-19 drugs does not replace vaccines

International research advances in the search to prevent serious illness and death from covid-19. The drugs Molnupiravir and Paxlovid, developed by U.S. laboratories, have shown 100 percent protection against death from SARS-CoV-2 and more than 50 percent efficacy against severe disease. Experts Carlos Arias Ortiz and Alejandro Sánchez Flores, from the Institute of Biotechnology of the UNAM, pointed out that these drugs are a tool, a complement to treat covid-19, which should not replace vaccination, nor be considered as a cure by themselves. So far, experts from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and in the United Kingdom have supported the possible emergency use of the antiviral Molnupiravir from the US pharmaceutical company Merck, before the official license is authorized, and the same response is expected from the Food and Drug Administration in the United States. Pfizer is in approval for emergency use with governments.Read more: The end of the pandemic? AstraZeneca drug reduced 83% risk of developing Covid-19How do they work? During an educational conversation broadcast by UNAM Global Tv, Mexican biochemist and UNAM academic Carlos Arias Ortiz indicated that Molnupiravir and Paxlovid are a treatment for people who have been diagnosed and are at risk of severe illness or death. “They are not drugs that cure, but they prevent the severity of the disease and also death,” he said. According to the specialist, it is not recommended for all people who contract covid-19, but in the oldest and with comorbidities. Therefore, he added that it is not thought to be prescribed for young people, particularly for those who do not have disorders. For his part, the expert in biochemical sciences Alejandro Sánchez Flores explained that having these treatments generates another combat tool. He added that it is known that, despite having vaccines that prevent severe symptoms and death, some cases get out of control. “There is always a percentage in which the vaccine does not generate the immune response that is expected, and having access to the drug, especially at the onset of symptoms, gives us that option to reduce cases of serious illness … It is a supplement that should not replace vaccination,” he explained. According to Sánchez Flores, the drugs will help avoid severe symptoms and death, as do vaccines, but so that in the end that number that goes out of the percentage of efficacy can be treated with pills. “If we think about it a little bit, this gives a much smaller bottleneck because the production would not be so massive. That would give a cost reduction. But medicines are not a substitute, people should be clear about it. It’s a complement, an extra lifeline,” he said. According to the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the drug Molnupiravir, also known as Lagevrio through capsules, should be taken twice a day for five days, by adults with covid-19 who do not require supplemental oxygen and who are patients at risk of developing the disease in their severe state. Effectiveness During his speech, Carlos Arias Ortiz explained that the clinical trials of both drugs are not published and neither are peer-reviewed, so we only have the statements of the companies that developed them.” In the case of Molnupiravir, 7 percent of patients treated with the drug were hospitalized, against 14 percent of the group of those who did not take it,” he said.  From another perspective, he maintained that during the study no people who have received the drug died, while in the group that was given a placebo there were eight deaths, so it has 100 percent protection against death and 50 percent effectiveness against severe disease. In the case of Paxlovid, from Pfizer, the academic from the Institute of Biotechnology of the UNAM explained that 0.8 percent of those who were in the study had to be hospitalized, against 7 percent of the group that did not receive the drug. “This is 89 percent effective against hospitalization. And against death, 100 percent effectiveness was reported, against seven deaths among those who received the placebo,” said the specialist. Carlos Arias Ortiz explained that for now it is difficult to know when they will be available, although the pharmaceutical company Merck said it will have 10 million treatments by the end of the year, of which the United States has already bought 1.7 million. In addition, one of the advantages of Molnupiravir is that it has an open patent; that is, that it can be licensed to be produced in other nations by more companies, generically, which could lower costs. In the case of Pfizer, there will be about 100,000 treatments, according to its own statements. Molnupiravir has an approximate cost of 700 dollars, that is, 14 thousand Mexican pesos, as declared by the company. Pfizer has not announced pricing for Paxlovid; however, he said he will try to make it affordable for middle-income countries, in addition to licensing manufacturing in nations that have the capacity, and thus reduce costs. To understand… For the experts Carlos Arias Ortiz and Alejandro Sánchez Flores, from the Institute of Biotechnology of the UNAM, the measures that seek to mitigate the number of infections must be maintained, such as the use of masks, healthy distance and, mainly, vaccination. Alejandro Sánchez Flores added that the problem is that, until two more years from now, it is possible that there is a homogeneous vaccination, more due to the appearance of the delta variant, which is postulated to be the predominant in the world. “It may become endemic and this means we’re going to see it circulating,” he said. Read more: USA orders Pfizer 10 million Covid-19 pills for $5.3 billionDuring the past two months, Mexico has shown a decline in COVID-19 cases. Until last November 18, 3,915 new cases and 20,115 active cases were officially announced, in addition to the 63,690,510 people have been vaccinated with a full schedule. Road police stop traffic to cross dog in Oaxaca



Original source in Spanish

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