Last year, two Covid drugs came onto the market, which Austria (and other countries) bought in large quantities. On the one hand Paxlovid from the company Pfizer, on the other hand Lagevrio with the active ingredient molnupiravir from the company Merck. However, this preparation is now being refused approval by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
There is “no longer any clear benefit for patients with the prevailing virus variants and the current immunization situation in the population,” reported the Ministry of Health. The administration will therefore also be discontinued in Austria.
Lagevrio was used in many EU countries without approval, primarily to protect high-risk patients from severe courses. Both with this drug and with Paxlovid, the virus multiplication should be stopped. Clinical studies had initially shown good effectiveness.
Variants could be promoted
By October, 123,642 packs had been delivered to Austria, with Paxlovid supplying tens of thousands more. But last year, doctors had doubts about the actual effectiveness of the active ingredient molnupiravir after the drug had been tested under real conditions in a number of countries.
Recently, however, studies have confirmed the suspicion that the preparation could also promote mutations. It changes the genome of the virus so that it can no longer multiply, but this can also lead to the formation of new variants. Incidentally, Lagevrio was not used very often in Austria. By mid-January, 23,429 doses had been administered, most of them in hospitals. With Paxlovid, the opposite is true. Around 42,000 of the 66,000 doses were dispensed through pharmacies and doctors.
