Study shows 3 Japan-approved drugs effective against Omicron BA.5

Three anti-coronavirus drugs prescribed in Japan, including molnupiravir, may be effective against the Omicron subvariant BA.5, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Thursday.A team led by Yoshihiro Kawaoka, a professor of virology at the University of Tokyo, found that small-molecule antiviral drugs nirmatrelvir, molnupiravir, and remdesivir curbed virus activity in cultured monkey cells infected with the highly contagious BA.5 and other strains.Nirmatrelvir is one of two active ingredients in Paxlovid, developed by Pfizer Inc. This and molnupiravir, deve…READ FULL ARTICLE