Yorkshire Covid sufferers urged to take part in 'gamechanger' antiviral pill trial

The UK has become the first country in the world to approve the use of Molnupiravir, which it is hoped will cut hospitalisations and deaths from Covid.

A University of Oxford-led study requires 10,600 people to take part in trials on its efficacy ahead of potential wider use. The UK has agreed to purchase 480,000 courses of the drug.

Mahendra Patel, a professor of pharmacy at Bradford University who is among the national leads for the trial programme, today urged eligible people in Yorkshire who test positive to sign up.

“If we show the benefits hold up, the sooner we can make it available through our NHS,” he said.

The trial is open to people aged 50 and over and those over 18 with underlying health conditions who have contracted Covid in the last five days.

Professor Patel, who is the trial’s Pharmacy and Inclusion and Diversity Lead, said that as of Friday around 360 patients had come forward to take part in the trial.

"If you look at the early data, and obviously it's been approved by the MHRA, in terms of its safety, what we want to look at is more in terms of the effective and we've now got Omicron to deal with so we are looking at how it deals with Omicron as well.

"You are not just doing it for yourself, but you are also potentially looking at helping reduce the stresses on the NHS.

"We all want to play a part in trying to do whatever we can in finding a solution for for helping to fight Covid-19 and this is a chance to do that."

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency announced in November that it had found Molnupiravir to be safe and effective at reducing the risk of hospitalisation and death in people with mild to moderate COVID-19 who are at increased risk of developing severe disease.

It made it the first oral antiviral for the treatment of COVID-19 to be approved.

It works by interfering with the virus’ replication. This prevents it from multiplying, keeping virus levels low in the body and therefore reducing the severity of the disease.

Based on the clinical trial data, Lagevrio is most effective when taken during the early stages of infection and so the MHRA recommends its use as soon as possible following a positive COVID-19 test and within five days of symptoms onset

Molnupiravir has been authorised for use in people who have mild to moderate COVID-19 and at least one risk factor for developing severe illness. Such risk factors include obesity, older age (over 60 years), diabetes mellitus, or heart disease.

Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said at the time: “The UK is now the first country in the world to approve an antiviral that can be taken at home for COVID-19. This will be a gamechanger for the most vulnerable and the immunosuppressed, who will soon be able to receive the ground-breaking treatment.

“The UK is leading the way to research, develop and roll out the most exciting, cutting-edge treatments, and my thanks goes to the expert teams at the MHRA and MSD for this triumph, as well as the Antivirals Taskforce who have procured the treatment.

“We are working at pace across the government and with the NHS to set out plans to deploy molnupiravir to patients through a national study as soon as possible

“This antiviral will be an excellent addition to our armoury against COVID-19, and it remains vital everyone comes forward for their life-saving COVID-19 vaccine - particularly those eligible for a booster - to ensure as many people as possible are protected over the coming months.”

The trial’s Chief Investigator, Professor Chris Butler, Professor of Primary Care in the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, said: "It is early on in the illness, when people are still being cared for in the community, that treatments for COVID-19 could have their greatest benefit.

"So far, a lot of the research has focussed on finding out if well-known drugs can be repurposed to treat COVID-19. This new trial will test whether exciting, new antiviral treatments that are more specific to COVID-19 help people in the community recover faster and reduce the need for treatment in hospital."

While the companies behind Molunpiravir - Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics - reported initial trial results in October suggesting the pill reduced the risk of hospital treatment for vulnerable patients by 50 per cent, more recent data in America saw US regulators downgrad its efficacy to 30 per cent.

To find out more about the trial, visit www.panoramictrial.org

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