Molnupiravir not in national clinical protocol due to safety concerns

ICMR chief says task force has debated twice on whether to include the drug in the protocol, but decided against it

Merck's antiviral drug molnupiravir, which several Indian companies are in the process of launching, has serious safety concerns, and thus has not been included in the national Covid-19 task force recommended clinical protocol, the chief of India’s apex health research organisation said on Wednesday. Balram Bhargava, director general of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), told the media the task force has debated twice whether to include the drug in the protocol, but decided against it.

“The US has approved it based only on 1,433 patients with a 3 per cent reduction in moderate disease when given in mild cases.