Vietnam gives nod to first Covid-19 treatment drug Molnupiravir

Vietnam’s health ministry has just approved for the first time three Covid-19 treatment drugs containing Molnupiravir for emergency use.

The three drugs include Molravir 400 by Boston Pharma, Movinavir 200 mg by Mekophar Chemical Pharmaceutical, and Molnupiravir Stella 400 by Stellapharm, according to the Drug Administration of Vietnam under the Ministry of Health.

Packets of Molnupiravir for Covid-19 patients. Photo: Thai Son

The administration said that when the drug was not yet approved and only the health ministry was allowed to distribute it to Covid-19 patients, it was sold illegally. Now that it is approved, the Molnupiravir market would be managed by the health ministry.

Molnupiravir drug helps reduce viral load in the early stages of Covid-19 and risks of severe symptoms and deaths, the administration added.

Molnupiravir has been used globally for mild and asymptomatic Covid-19 patients. The medication has proved to be safe and effective at reducing the risk of hospitalization and death in people with mild to moderate patients who are at increased risk of developing severe disease.

The use of the drug shows that Molnupiravir is safe and well-accepted, and has obvious effectiveness in reducing viral load, virus spread and the number of severe cases, and shortening treatment time, with no fatalities recorded.

Molnupiravir is developed by the US-based pharmaceutical companies Ridgeback Biotherapeutics and Merck & Co., Inc.

Earlier, in late November 2021, three Vietnamese pharmaceutical companies were planning to produce Molnupiravir pills to treat Covid-19 patients with mild or no symptoms.

Of the three, the drug manufactured by Stellapharm Vietnam has been approved for the clinical trial. At that time, because Molnupiravir had yet been granted a circulation registration number in Vietnam, the Ministry of Health is considering asking the Government for approval of using the drug in emergency cases.