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MOLNUPIRAVIR The Little Pill That Could
RESEARCHERS AT EMORY DISCOVERED THE ANTIVIRAL DRUG THAT’S POISED TO BE AN IMPORTANT WEAPON IN THE FIGHT AGAINST COVID-19.
By Quinn Eastman In September 2021, Merck Pharmaceuticals announced that molnupiravir, an investigational oral antiviral drug, appeared to significantly reduce the risk of hospitalization or death in patients with mild to
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moderate COVID-19, according to a Phase 3 study. The analysis was conducted by Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, which developed the drug after licensing it from Drug Innovation Ventures at Emory (DRIVE). Since then, Merck filed an application with the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for molnupiravir—and the FDA was scheduled to meet November 30 to discuss authorizing it for emergency use in US patients. Meanwhile, Britain’s Medicines & Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency approved molnupiravir, making the drug the first PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF MERCK
antiviral pill to treat COVID-19.
We worked hard for many years to discover and develop molnupiravir to anticipate and address emerging infections. —George Painter, CEO of DRIVE
Read on to find out how Emory scientist George Painter discovered molnupiravir, a drug originally developed to battle Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus and influenza, and sparked investigations of its use against COVID-19. WINTER 2021
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