We just finished looking into the development of Merck’s orally delivered antiviral treatment for COVID-19. It has been ethically derived. Two independent research teams studied the drug, with one team relying on ferret models and the other on Syrian Hamster models. One of the research teams used an adult human lung epithelial cancer cell line (Calu-3) in their testing; all other testing and virus propagation work was done in Vero E6 cells.

The first paper was published in the journal Nature in December of 2020 and the second was published in the same journal in April of 2021. Both studies noted that the drug was a strong RNA mutagen, inducing genetic catastrophe in the SARS-CoV-2 virus. In other words, Molnupiravir actually kills the virus, unlike the mRNA vaccines.

It comes in capsule form, much more convenient that intravenous delivery. Phase 3 trials began a short time ago – August 2021 – with an estimated completion date of April 2022.