The collegiate board of Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency) approved this Wednesday (4) the emergency use of the antiviral molnupiravir for Covid-19. The drug was developed by MSD Pharmaceuticals (known as Merck in the United States and Canada).
According to the agency, in clinical trials, molnupiravir showed beneficial effects in the treatment of adult patients with mild and moderate disease, with the ability to reduce hospitalizations and deaths.
The pharmaceutical company asked Anvisa to authorize its drug in November last year.
The drug will be sold under medical prescription. It is contraindicated for children under 18 and pregnant women. It is also not recommended for initiation of treatment in Covid patients requiring hospitalization, for use for more than five consecutive days, and while breastfeeding.
According to Anvisa, the drug should be used during the first five days after the onset of symptoms, and the dosage in adults is 800 mg (four 200 mg capsules) orally, every 12 hours, and for five days.
When voting in favor of molnupiravir, the rapporteur of the case at the agency, Meiruze Freitas, stressed that the drug does not replace the vaccine.
“Vaccination remains the best strategy to prevent severe Covid-19, hospitalizations and deaths,” he said.
The drug has already been approved by the WHO (World Health Organization) and also in the United States, Europe, the United Kingdom, Japan and Australia. In all, it is in use in 17 countries.
In February, pharmaceutical company MSD released the preliminary results of a clinical trial that showed an effectiveness in reducing the risk of hospitalization for Covid of more than 65%, when compared to standard treatment alone.
Recently, at the end of March, the collegiate board of Anvisa also approved the emergency use of Paxlovid, the Pfizer pill for Covid-19.
The pill is composed of nirmatrelvir and ritonavir tablets, and is indicated for the treatment of Covid-19 in adults who do not require supplemental oxygen and who are at increased risk of progression to the severe form of the disease.
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