Molnupiravir by Merck & Co’s is the new Covid-19 pill. Experts claim that it will help nations struggling to vaccinate their citizens.
As per an analysis based on a late-stage trial, the pill reduced the risk of hospitalisation or death by 50 per cent.
The global health agency, Unitaid is also hoping that it reaches the lower and middle-income nations.
But how is it designed? Molnupiravir is designed to introduce errors into the genetic code of the fatal virus. Hence, this would be the first oral antiviral medication for Covid-19.
Moreover, the drug could be very cheap to manufacture; it will be available at a low price in developing countries.
The results of the Phase III trial looked promising. As per experts, Molnupiravir is less challenging logistically compared to Gilead Sciences’ infused antiviral remdesivir.
Indian Economy and Molnupiravir
Earlier in 2021, Merck and Co had announced that it signed non-exclusive voluntary licensing agreements for molnupiravir with five generic manufacturers in India.
Also, when it comes to pandemic impact on the Indian economy, there have been many statistics showing a down picture.
The rapid pace of vaccination and this drug Molnupiravir will immensely help rebound the Indian economy.
Former NITI Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya says that the fundamentals of the Indian economy are sound as the real GDP in Q3 and Q4 of FY’21 already crossed the pre-pandemic level.
Mr Panagariya also reiterated that India needs to conquer COVID-19 as quickly and decisively as possible.
Additionally, the Indian economy grew by a record 20.1 per cent in the April-June quarter this fiscal. This comes with a very weak base of last year and a sharp rebound in the manufacturing and services sectors despite the second wave of COVID-19.
And the Reserve Bank of India on the other hand has also lowered the country’s growth projection for the current financial year to 9.5 per cent from 10.5 per cent estimated earlier.
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