A new analysis suggests that a COVID-19 drug may have contributed to the emergence of new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Molnupiravir,
which works by introducing mutations to the viral genome, may be
contributing to the creation of new viral lineages.
- The study, which analyzed more than 13 million SARS-CoV-2 sequences, has not yet been peer-reviewed.
- Its
authors identified a viral lineage carrying 25 monupiravir-linked
mutations that had spread to at least 20 people in Australia.
- They
found that the mutated lineages were more likely to show up in gene
sequencing data in the U.S., the U.K., and Australia — all of which had
approved the drug — than in France and Canada, which had not approved
it.
- Merck argued that the evidence in the study is
"circumstantial," saying that the researchers "assume these mutations
were associated with molnupiravir treatment without evidence.”
- The
drug, which was developed by U.S. drugmaker Merck, was approved by
regulators in the U.S., the U.K., and Australia in late 2021 and early
2022.
- A large-scale study in the U.K. found that the drug was not effective in preventing COVID-19 hospitalizations or deaths.
