Merck to share its Covid pill
The American pharmaceutical giant Merck granted a royalty-free license for its promising Covid-19 antiviral pill to a U.N.- backed nonprofit organization. The agreement restricts sales to developing countries and excludes most middle-income countries — including China and Russia, as well as many Latin American nations.
The deal with the Medicines Patent Pool would allow the drug, called molnupiravir, to be manufactured and sold cheaply in 105 countries, mostly in Africa and Asia, where vaccines for Covid-19 are in short supply. Affluent nations have rushed to negotiate deals to buy the drug, tying up supply and raising concerns that poor countries could be shut out.
The deal has been welcomed by advocates for treatment access, who called it an unusual step for a major Western pharmaceutical company. Merck has already licensed eight large Indian drug makers to produce generic versions of molnupiravir, pending authorization.
Results: The drug halved the rate of hospitalizations and deaths in high-risk Covid patients who took it soon after infection in a large clinical trial, according to Merck.
Details: Generic drug makers in developing countries are expected to market the drug for as little as $20 per treatment (a five-day course), compared with the $712 per course that the U.S. government agreed to pay for its initial purchase.
(source: New York Times)
TANIKO Madagascar 