New research has shown the drug molnupiravir could be used to treat people against a wide range of COVID-19 variants.
The antiviral showed faster clearance of virus regardless of whether patients are vaccinated.
The results are the latest from AGILE, a consortium that includes the NIHR Southampton Clinical Research Facility and NIHR Southampton Clinical Trials Unit.
They are published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.
Faster clearance of the virus
The antiviral drug molnupiravir received regulatory approval in November 2021. This was for treating people with mild to moderate COVID-19 at increased risk of developing severe disease.
This was after research showed it was effective at reducing the risk of death and hospital admissions for these people. But this research was based solely on data from unvaccinated people. This left uncertainty about how effective the drug would be for vaccinated people.
Now these results show treatment with molnupiravir led to faster clearance of the virus in both vaccinated and unvaccinated people.
The researchers also showed the drug was effective against a broad range of COVID-19 variants.
Testing against today’s variants
AGILE, led by the University of Liverpool, is testing many different treatments against COVID-19. It includes NIHR Clinical Research Facilities (CRFs) across the UK and other partners.
The AGILE team initially undertook a phase I trial of molnupiravir. They then did a phase II trial in both vaccinated and unvaccinated patients. People took part from CRFs in Liverpool, Southampton, Manchester, Lancashire and London. Merck also conducted a simultaneous late-phase licensing trial in unvaccinated patients.
Working with the PANORAMIC trial
Professor Gareth Griffiths, Director of the Southampton Clinical Trials Unit, says:
“The results from this trial do not contradict the existing evidence of a moderate benefit from molnupiravir. We shared our trial findings with colleagues in Oxford who are coordinating the PANORAMIC trial. This is a much larger study in a highly vaccinated population, which will help add further evidence to the potential benefits of molnupiravir.”
The preliminary analysis of the PANORAMIC trial was published earlier this month. It showed further evidence that molnupiravir results in faster recovery and less virus in higher risk, vaccinated adults.
Testing a new antiviral combination
The AGILE team is now analysing samples from the trial in the laboratory. This will help them understand which patients and COVID-19 variants molnupiravir is effective against. They hope it will be suitable for everyone to access as soon as they find out they have COVID-19.
Professor Griffiths continues:
“Following on from these positive results, the AGILE platform is moving forward with its next trial. This will see whether a combination of two antivirals, molnupiravir and paxlovid, can be even more effective in combatting the COVID-19 infection. We expect to open to recruitment in Southampton and other CRFs later this month.”
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