NEW DELHI: Molnupiravir, a Covid antiviral medicine, was launched in India on Monday for Rs 1,399 for a five-day course for mild to moderate infection. An expert panel of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation has approved the antiviral medicine Molnupiravir for restricted use in emergency situations, amidst mounting cases of the novel Covid variant Omicron in the country.

Molnupiravir is an antiviral drug that prevents specific RNA viruses from replicating. It's used to treat COVID-19 in people who have been infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Molnupiravir 800 mg twice a day for five days is the recommended dose. A patient must take 40 capsules with a total dose of 200 mg of medicine. The oral tablet is being developed by over a dozen pharmaceutical companies, including Torrent, Cipla, Sun Pharma, Dr. Reddy's, Natco, Mylan, and Hetero. Molnupiravir pills are also scheduled to be released in the following weeks by Cipla, Sun Pharma, and Dr Reddy's Laboratories.

Molnupiravir, a joint venture between MSD and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, is the first anti-Covid tablet to be licenced by the UK's drug authority. Molnupiravir has also been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for the treatment of mild-to-moderate Covid-19 in adults, as well as those who are at a high risk of developing severe disease.

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