Covid antiviral drug Molnupiravir has 'major safety concerns', says ICMR

Flagging the various health concerns surrounding the Covid anti-viral drug Molnupiravir, ICMR’s Dr Balram Bhargava said that Merck’s coronavirus pill has not been added to the national treatment protocol due to some ‘major safety concerns.’
Bhargava, the head of the state-run Indian Council of Medical Research, raised the issue at a press briefing on Wednesday. “The US approved Molnupiravir based on 1,433 patients with a 3% reduction in serious-moderate Covid disease. The drug can cause teratogenicity, mutagenicity and can also cause cartilage damage. It can be damaging to muscles as well,” he added. If a patient consumes Molnupiravir, they will need to use a contraceptive for three months, both male and female as the child born could be affected, he added.

With this, he said that the drug has not been included in the national task force treatment and that the World Health Organisation and the United Kingdom have not included it either.

Hyderabad-based Dr Reddy's Laboratories will be launching its generic version of the Merck drug, called Molflu (molnupiravir), from early next week which will be priced at ₹35 per capsule.

With 10 capsules per strip, the total course of 40 capsules over 5 days would cost ₹1,400, making it among the most affordable treatment options available to patients, it added. "Molflu is expected to be available from early next week in pharmacies throughout the country with particular focus on states with high caseload of COVID-19," the spokesperson noted.

The company only last week got the emergency-use authorisation from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) to manufacture and market oral antiviral drug Molnupiravir capsules 200 mg for the treatment of adult patients with COVID-19 who have high risk of progression of the disease including hospitalisation or death.