Of the three, the drug manufactured by Stellapharm Vietnam has been approved for clinical trial. Because molnupiravir has yet been granted with a circulation registration number in Vietnam, the Ministry of Health is considering asking the Government for approval of using the drug in emergency cases. If approved by the Government, it is expected that three registration numbers will be issued for three types of molnupiravir drugs manufactured by domestic pharmaceutical companies.
Regarding the effectiveness of molnupiravir on COVID-19 patients in Vietnam, the Department of Science, Technology and Training under the Ministry of Health said that from the end of August, the ministry has piloted using molnupiravir for non-hospitalised patients. Ho Chi Minh City was the first locality to implement this pilot programme. At present, it has been carried out in 34 provinces and cities.
The ministry has provided 110,000 doses, including 50,000 doses of molnupiravir 400 mg Stella VN, and 60,000 doses of molnupiravir 200 mg Optimus produced by India to localities.
The use of the drug in 22 provinces and cities show that molnupiravir is safe and well-accepted, and has obvious effectiveness in reducing viral load, virus spread and the number of severe cases, and shortening treatment time, with no fatalities recorded.
Molnupiravir is developed by the US-based pharmaceutical companies Ridgeback Biotherapeutics and Merck & Co., Inc.
