What Is Molnupiravir That Indonesia Will Use In January 2022?

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JAKARTA - Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin reported that Indonesia was importing the drug molnupiravir as a COVID-19 drug. The target is that molnupiravir can be used in January 2022 in Indonesia.

Molnupiravir was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a COVID-19 drug on December 23.

Currently, the Indonesian Food and Drug Supervisory Agency is also processing an emergency use permit for the drug concocted by the pharmaceutical company Merck. It is estimated that the price of molnupiravir in Indonesia is under Rp. 1 million.

Getting to know Molnupiravir

Molnupiravir is a pill-shaped antiviral drug originally developed by the Emory (University) Institute for Drug Discovery (EIDD) to treat influenza sufferers. Over time, molnupiravir began to be tried in people with COVID-19.

This drug compound is a nucleoside cytidine analogue, which can infiltrate the RNA chain and inhibit viral RNA synthesis through inhibition of the enzyme RdRp (RNA-dependent RNA Polymerase), which in turn inhibits viral replication.

In other words, molnupiravir works by disrupting the genetic code of the virus so that it does not develop in the host's body, so it is effective in controlling the amount of virus in the body of people with COVID-19.

Furthermore, the results of Merck's laboratory studies show that molnupiravir may be effective against variants of the corona virus, including Delta. From the results of the research by the US pharmaceutical giant, molnupiravir is most effective when given in the early stages of infection.

Based on the results of phase I and II clinical trials, molnupiravir is safe to use and quite effective in reducing the amount of corona virus in patients with mild COVID-19.

In phase III clinical trials, molnupiravir was also able to reduce the need for hospitalization and reduce the risk of death by around 50 percent, especially in mild to moderate COVID-19 patients. This drug also has not been seen to cause serious side effects.

However, in its use in the field, the drug protection of molnupiravir shifted to about 30 to 40 percent.