A groundbreaking study published on Monday has discovered a concerning link between the COVID-19 antiviral drug developed by Merck, called Molnupiravir or Lagevrio, and the emergence of new mutations of the virus across the globe.
Molnupiravir works by inducing random mutations in the cells of the virus during replication, effectively reducing its viral load and weakening its ability to cause harm. Alongside Pfizer’s Paxlovid, Molnupiravir is one of the two authorized antivirals for treating coronavirus infections.
Researchers from the United Kingdom and South Africa embarked on a quest to understand the origins of these seemingly random mutations found in certain variants of the virus. They sought to investigate whether Molnupiravir played a role in the rise of these particular strains.
In their study published in the prestigious Nature science journal, the researchers analyzed data from patients who received treatment with Molnupiravir and those who did not. They discovered that the drug indeed triggered a high rate of mutations in the virus, with a considerable proportion of these mutations proving detrimental to the virus’s survival.
The researchers also examined COVID-19 genomes from global databases and specifically focused on mutations that were only identified in 2022, after the availability of Molnupiravir. They found a striking correlation between these sequences and mutations identified in patients who had received the antiviral treatment.
The study highlighted a particular type of mutation rarely observed in natural evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 virus but induced by the use of Molnupiravir. Populations living in countries with higher usage of the drug, such as elderly individuals residing in Australian retirement homes, exhibited a high prevalence of this specific mutation associated with Molnupiravir.
According to the study, Molnupiravir may enhance genomic diversity amongst viral cells that withstand the detrimental mutations brought on by the drug. Consequently, this expanded variety of mutations could shape the future evolution of SARS-CoV-2.
“Importantly, the deviation of the Molnupiravir mutation spectrum from the typical mutational dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 allows the virus to explore distinctive areas of the genomic landscape that it has not yet widely explored in the general population,” the study explained.
Additionally, the study proposed that Molnupiravir-induced mutations might enable longer persistence of infections by creating a more diverse target for the immune system.
When asked for comment, Merck expressed skepticism regarding the strength of the evidence presented by the researchers.
“The authors make assumptions about these mutations being associated with viral spread from Molnupiravir-treated patients, without documented evidence of such transmission. Instead, they rely on circumstantial associations between the region where the sequence was identified and the timing of sequence collection in countries where Molnupiravir is available to draw their conclusions,” the company stated.
“Furthermore, these sequences were rare and associated with sporadic cases. As mentioned by the authors, there are limitations to the analyses performed in this study, which are explained in greater detail within the manuscript. These findings must be considered in the context of all available clinical and non-clinical data on Molnupiravir,” added Merck.
Denial of responsibility! Vigour Times is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
