Recently, mapacoxavir capsules, a Class 1 innovative drug developed by Joincare Pharmaceutical Group Industry Co., Ltd., has obtained marketing approval from the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA). The drug is indicated for the treatment of uncomplicated influenza A and B in previously healthy adolescents aged 12 years and older and adults, excluding patients at high risk of developing influenza-associated complications. A single oral dose is sufficient to complete the full course of treatment for the drug.
After influenza viruses invade the human body, they rely on the PA endonuclease to cleave the cap structure of host mRNA for replication. This process is regarded as the switch of the viral replication pathway. Mapacoxavir targets precisely this switch; once the inhibition is achieved, the subsequent large-scale viral replication can no longer be initiated.
Professor Xu Jinfu, President of Tongji Hospital Affiliated to Tongji University, stated that the launch of anti-flu drugs targeting the PA endonuclease has brought considerable convenience to influenza treatment. Professor Ye Feng, Chief Physician of the Department of Respiratory Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, noted that administering mapacoxavir capsules within 48 hours of symptom onset yields clinical benefits across three key trial endpoints: the time to symptom relief, the time to fever resolution and the time to viral clearance.