Author: Ducquon Hinds

To: Professor Ellis

From: Ducquon Hinds 

Date: December 21, 2021

Subject: 500 Word Summary of new COVID-19 Drug 

This is a 500-word summary of an article that Explains the vivid research of a prominent virologist who believes the Newly accepted oral COVID-19 drug may create Dangerous Mutations that can produce deadlier variants of the coronavirus. 

[1] The UK’s approval of the first Oral COVID-19 drug Molnupiravir (An antiviral Medication that inhibits the replication of certain RNA viruses and is used to treat COVID-19) comes as a virologist warned that the drug could inadvertently cause new versions of COVID-19 to emerge more prominent in patients who are already at high risk with underlying severe diseases and can potentially be doing more harm than any good. While on the other hand, other virologists believe it wouldn’t be plausible to withhold a drug that can save lives to investigate research that may not be a cause for concern.

[2] developed from an early antiviral drug by Merck and ridgeback Biotherapeutics, Molnupiravir works by disrupting the viral replication cycle by introducing many mutations to the virus’s DNA. Last month, officials from Merck and Ridgeback published clinical trial results showing that administering the drug to patients with early-stage COVID-19 reduces the risk of hospitalization and death by 50%. The drug’s ability to mutate RNA has raised persistent concerns that it could cause cancer or birth defects by causing mutations in patients’ own genetic material. Studies have not yet confirmed these concerns. 

[3] William Haseltine, a virologist previously known for his research on the HIV and human DNA project at Harvard University, warned that the use of molnupiravir, which is known to induce viral mutations, could lead to the development of new harmful variants that could be more dangerous than the ones present today. 

[4] Since many people who take antibiotics fail to complete their treatment, if a COVID-19 patient feels better after a few days Haseltine fears that the Mutant virus may survive and spread if they stop taking molnupiravir.

[5] Although infectious disease experts agree that the possibility of generating variants is there, they do not believe that this will have a negative effect on the virus.

[6] Haseltine’s Studies that show that coronaviruses can survive the effects of molnupiravir-induced mutations are important because they suggest that the viruses can still evolve and become drug-resistant. for example, two years ago Vanderbuilt University virologist Mark Denison and colleagues repeatedly exposed coronaviruses to a sublethal dose of a drug called EIDD1931 to test the drug-resistant viruses (murine hepatitis virus and a virus that causes respiratory syndrome in the Middle East) 30 rounds of such drug treatment caused up to 162 different mutations that the virus did not kill. However, Denison states that his study does not catalog mutations in individual viruses, instead up to 162 Mutations occurred in a population of cells infected with one of the two coronaviruses.  

[7] Most Mutations damaged the virus and slowed its growth. Most mutations damaged the virus and slowed its growth. “When I take something away from my job, the virus continues to develop harmful mutations when it tries to adapt, for example by resistance to [Molnupiravir],” Denison says. However, Ravindra Gupta, a microbiologist at the University of Cambridge, warns that the mutant virus is more likely to propagate in people who are most likely to take Molnupiravir, that is, those with a weakened immune system. “These are exactly the people most likely to receive [Molnupiravir],” he says because vaccines are less effective in protecting these patients.

[8] Daria Hazda, director of infectious disease detection at Merck, said “there is no evidence that people taking Molnupiravir were creating a virus with a new and dangerous Mutation. “No infectious virus was found,” says Hazda. She also states that patients who have been treated with the drug for 5 days. Mutations that occurred along the way were Random and did not focus on specific genes that increase the survival of the Virus.

[9] “There is no shortage of virus Mutations,” says Katzourakis. A more important question is whether molnupiravir exerts selective pressure to drive the virus towards infectivity or pathogenicity. A more important question is whether molnupiravir exerts selective pressure to drive the virus towards infectivity or pathogenicity.

[10] According to Denison and other virologists, Molnupiravir is likely to promote the emergence of drug-resistant viruses that are no longer fatal or contagious, a common consequence of anti-infective drugs. However, in the news, November on 5th News that another Pfizer antiviral drug was very effective against COVID-19 suggests ways to prevent resistance. 

Reference:R. F. Service, “A prominent virologist warns COVID-19 pill could unleash dangerous mutants. Others see little cause for alarm,” Goldtent TA Paradise ” A Prominent Virologist Warns COVID Pill Could Unleash Dangerous Mutants. Others See Little Cause for Alarm, 07-Nov-2021. [Online]. Available: https://goldtadise.com/?p=516074. [Accessed: 21-Dec-2021].