COVID vaccinations have gotten the most attention regarding this scourge, and rightly so. Antibody “cocktails” (there are two now), have captured some attention as well. These treatments are pricey ($2000 a pop), and deliver less bang for buck, if you ask me. I think that they should be held in reserve to treat breakthrough infections among the vaccinated – folks like General Colin Powell. But, that’s just me.
Remdesivir, you may recall, is an HIV drug that can help interrupt the development of severe COVID in folks who have an early diagnosis. If you are already so ill that you require hospitalization, Remdesivir probably won’t do much for you. Alas.
Remdesivir belongs to a class of medications called RNA Polymerase Inhibitors. Such drugs are analogs of the building blocks of RNA. To the viral RNA polymerase, they “look like” the building blocks that the polymerase needs to incorporate into new RNA strands in order to make more virus. These doppelganger molecules deceive the polymerase into creating an RNA strand that is a dead-end for viral replication. Ain’t science cool?
While Remdesivir is merely helpful in the battle against COVID, another RNA Polymerase Inhibitor recently developed by Merck seems more promising. The drug is called molnupiravir, and like Remdesivir, it works by derailing the viral RNA polymerase’s work. These are drugs meant to be taken after one has a positive test for COVID. Still, there might be value to using them prophylactically in high-risk situations, I suppose. I don’t know what molnupiravir will cost once it is approved for the treatment of COVID, but I think that it will cost a bit. My experience with drug pricing is that new therapies are almost always priced comparably to old ones. In other words, if a COVID antibody cocktail costs $2000, then a course of anti-COVID pills will likely cost similarly.
On the bright side, Merck appears to have already committed to making its antiviral formulation and technology available to the third world for generic production. If America will pay $2000 for a course of treatment, perhaps Ethiopia will pay only $20. We shall see.
In the meantime, you already know what I am going to say. Take the focking vaccine, and encourage those you love to do the same. All these anti-viral therapies are PLAN B!