An antiviral oral drug has been developed that can block the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the coronavirus (COVID-19), within 24 hours, a study found.

Researchers at the Institute for Biomedical Sciences in Georgia State University said antiviral drug Molnupiravir or MK-4482/EIDD-2801could prove to be a game-changer in the fight against the deadly virus. The results have been published in the journal Nature Microbiology.

The team, which was led by Dr. Richard Plemper, originally discovered that the drug is potent against influenza viruses.

"This is the first demonstration of an orally available drug to rapidly block SARS-CoV-2 transmission," said Plemper. "MK-4482/EIDD-2801 could be game-changing."

Molnupiravir is a powerful candidate for pharmacologic control of COVID-19

Molnupiravir could have a three-fold benefit, the study suggests, since it can halt the progress of a patient from mild to severe disease, shorten the infectious phase to ease the emotional and socio-economic toll of prolonged isolation, and quickly stopping local outbreaks.

“We noted early on that Molnupiravir, or MK-4482/EIDD-2801, has broad-spectrum activity against respiratory RNA viruses and treating infected animals by mouth with the drug lowers the amount of shed viral particles by several orders of magnitude, dramatically reducing transmission," Plemper said.

According to Plemper, these properties made MK-4482/EIDD/2801 a powerful candidate for pharmacologic control of COVID-19.

In the study, Plemper's team repurposed MK-4482/EIDD-2801 against SARS-CoV-2 and utilized a ferret model to test the effect of the drug on blocking the spread of the virus.

"We believe ferrets are a relevant transmission model because they readily spread SARS-CoV-2, but mostly do not develop severe disease, which closely resembles SARS-CoV-2 spread in young adults," said Dr. Robert Cox, a postdoctoral fellow in the Plemper team and a co-lead author of the study.

Plemper’s team infected ferrets with SARS-CoV-2 and initiated treatment when the animals began shedding virus from the nose.

MK-4482/EIDD-2801 is in advanced phase 2 or 3 trials.

As of this posting, total cases of COVID-19 in the United States climbed to 14.8 million, with 282,000 deaths recorded.

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