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US Researchers Say COVID-19 Antiviral Shows Promise
US Researchers Say COVID-19 Antiviral Shows Promise
By Agence France-Presse
March 06, 2021 05:19 PM
SAN FRANCISCO - Pharmaceutical giant Merck and an American laboratory announced progress Saturday in the design of an oral drug against COVID-19. Their antiviral has shown positive effects in reducing the viral load in current tests.
...
The drug significantly reduced the viral load in patients after five days of treatment, the company said Saturday in a meeting with infectious-disease specialists.
Phase 2a of the test — the trials have three phases before possible marketing — was carried out on 202 out-of-hospital patients who had COVID-19 with symptoms. There was no alert in terms of safety, and "of the four serious incidents reported, none was considered in connection with the drug studied," the laboratory said.
...
The results of this study, "namely a more rapid decrease in the viral load in individuals with COVID-19 in the initial phase and who have received molnupiravir, are promising," assured William Fischer, one of the directors of the study and professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina.
"If they are reinforced by additional studies, they could have important consequences in terms of public health, as the virus continues to spread and evolve in the world."
...
https://www.voanews.com/covid-19-pandemic/us-researchers-say-covid-19-antiviral-shows-promise
By Agence France-Presse
March 06, 2021 05:19 PM
SAN FRANCISCO - Pharmaceutical giant Merck and an American laboratory announced progress Saturday in the design of an oral drug against COVID-19. Their antiviral has shown positive effects in reducing the viral load in current tests.
...
The drug significantly reduced the viral load in patients after five days of treatment, the company said Saturday in a meeting with infectious-disease specialists.
Phase 2a of the test — the trials have three phases before possible marketing — was carried out on 202 out-of-hospital patients who had COVID-19 with symptoms. There was no alert in terms of safety, and "of the four serious incidents reported, none was considered in connection with the drug studied," the laboratory said.
...
The results of this study, "namely a more rapid decrease in the viral load in individuals with COVID-19 in the initial phase and who have received molnupiravir, are promising," assured William Fischer, one of the directors of the study and professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina.
"If they are reinforced by additional studies, they could have important consequences in terms of public health, as the virus continues to spread and evolve in the world."
...
https://www.voanews.com/covid-19-pandemic/us-researchers-say-covid-19-antiviral-shows-promise
Good news on the therapeutics front. I hope further study confirms this initial reporting.
