Hopes are high on this pill to end the nightmare of Corona by the end of the year

A report published recently by the American medical site Medscape confirmed that oral treatments for Covid-19 are pills.

It is currently undergoing phase 2 clinical trials, and if successful, it may be ready by the end of the year.

So far, there is no cure for Covid-19, and the only treatment that has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration is the drug "remdesivir", which does not deal with the disease but with its symptoms, and it is given to patients whose condition required hospitalization, and it must be given intravenously.

Hopes were raised over the weekend, regarding the presence of a pill to rid the bodies of Covid-19 patients of the virus, when the results of early trials of the drug "Molnopiravir", which was developed by the American company "Redhill Biopharma", were presented at the "Retrovirus and Infection" conference. Opportunism, which is held annually in the United States, and is attended by thousands of leading researchers and doctors from all over the world, and was held at the end of last week by default due to the circumstances of Corona, according to what was quoted by the newspaper "Al-Sharq Al-Awsat"

During the conference, the results of the second phase of clinical trials were presented for this drug designed for patients with Coronavirus, and which does what the drug "oseltamivir" (Tamiflu) does for patients with influenza.

According to a report by "Medscape", the study presented during the conference showed that the pills significantly reduced the infectious virus in patients who had symptoms of Covid-19, and they tested positive for the virus.

After 5 days of treatment, none of the participants who received Molnopiravir had a detectable virus, while 24% of the control group who received the placebo still had the virus.

The company that created this drug is developing two other types by mouth: one for treating severe Covid-19 infection for hospitalized patients, and the other for patients at home with mild infections.

The first, the drug "Opaganib", which is intended for severe cases, moved to the third stage of clinical trials, after the company announced the initial safety and efficacy data in December, and in the second stage it was found that the drug is safe in patients who need oxygen, and effectively reduces the need for Oxygen by the end of the treatment period.

Medscape quoted Gilad Raday, the company's chief operating officer, as saying that "the main advantage of this drug is that it is anti-viral and anti-inflammatory. The results of the third phase are expected in the middle of the year."

As for the second drug, "Opamostat", it is currently in the third phase of clinical trials, and differs from the first in that it is intended for non-hospitalized Covid-19 patients, and its clinical trial data is expected to be available in the second half of this year, says Raday.

In addition to these three drugs, there are other oral drugs in trials that are still in the early stages, and infectious disease specialists are watching this trend with great enthusiasm.

According to Sarah Dornberg, an infectious disease specialist from the University of California: "We urgently need an oral treatment option. This is a real gap in the treatment for patients in the hospital," according to what was reported by the Medscape website.

She explained that although some studies have shown the benefit of monoclonal antibodies for early prevention and treatment, there are major logistical problems because all current options require intravenous administration, and if we have a pill to treat Covid-19 early, especially in high-risk patients, You will fill a big gap.

And studies conducted on "Molnopiravir" indicate that it reduces virus replication in the first few days after infection, according to Dornberg.

She added: "It will be important to know whether the results translate into fewer people needing hospitalization, and whether people feel better faster. I am very excited to review the clinical data for this drug, and I will monitor the results of the other two drugs in the coming weeks." That, "If these drugs work, I think we can use them, perhaps under an emergency use permit, this year."

Kenneth Johnson, professor of molecular biology at the University of Texas, agreed with the previous view that oral formulations were urgently needed.

The cost of one 5-day course of remdesivir ranges from $ 2,340 to $ 3,120 in the United States.

He hoped that "we can come up with something a little easier to manage, without much fear of toxic side effects."

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