Jean-Louis Montastruc, doctor, professor of medical pharmacology at Toulouse University Hospital and member of the Academy of Medicine, warned Friday, November 12 on franceinfo against molnupiravir. It is an antiviral, presented by the Merck laboratory as an effective drug “89% against hospitalizations and deaths” linked to Covid-19. “Molnupiravir is a derivative of a drug that had some concerns when it was put on the market many years ago. You have to be careful.”, he says.
The firms Merck and Pfizer communicated a few weeks ago on the arrival of pills, paxlovid and molnupiravir, effective according to them against severe forms. France has already ordered 50,000 doses of the latter. In his televised address on Tuesday, Emmanuel Macron mentioned these two antivirals as an additional weapon in the fight against Covid-19.
franceinfo: Is the upcoming arrival on the market of these two drugs good news?
Jean-Louis Montastruc: We talk about it a lot in the press and in government spheres. Scientific publications, to my knowledge, have not been presented to the medical community. For these two drugs, paxlovid and molnupiravir, we therefore only have laboratory data.
Does this mean that we should therefore not get carried away?
In general, clinical trials can only target a small population. Then, when we have the marketing authorization, the drug is used on a whole different scale, very broad. What needs to be made clear to the public and to patients is that it is at this point – the point of use – that you really see the long-term benefit and the possible side effects. However, molnupiravir is a derivative of a drug that had some concerns when we wanted to put it on the market, many years ago. We must therefore be careful. The pharmacologist that I am is there to stabilize the excessive enthusiasm about the drug and to say exactly what are the benefits and the risks.
If that is not the quick fix, what about the vaccination?
If there’s only one word to remember, it’s get vaccinated! Get vaccinated! It is necessary that, from the period of six months [après l’injection de la deuxième dose] elapsed, all people receive a third dose. I go beyond ministerial recommendations. This is the only solution to fight against the pandemic. Against viruses, whether it’s Covid-19 or other respiratory viruses, the only weapon we have is the vaccine, the whole vaccine but nothing but the vaccine.