Good news from low-income countries around the world. Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) stated that it had made a deal with several companies producing generic drugs, in order to get low cost antiviral medicines against SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus responsible for COVID-19 pandemic, which is panicking the whole planet.
Thanks to this, many Nations, not disposing of great economic means, will be able to get the medicines they need to an affordable price and they will be able to efficaciously fight infections.
Agreement with Merck
In particular, in October 2021, MPP subscribed a license deal with MSD, the society also known as Merck & Co., Inc, in countries other than Canada and USA, and residing in Kenilworth, NJ, USA.
According to the deal, molnupiravir, the antiviral drug to treat COVID-19 that Merck is developing together with United biotech society Ridgeback Biotherapeutics (reseeding in Miami, Florida), is going to be produced by 27 specialized companies, at a modest price, and it is going to supply 105 developing countries.
The agreement
13 of theese 27 companies will produce both the raw materials needed for molnupiravir synthesis and the drug itself, when done and ready for delivery; while 5 of them will just produce the raw ingredients; and 9 will synthesize the medicine alone, without its precursors.
Theese societies are situated in 11 countries: Bangladesh, China, Egypt/Jordan, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Pakistan, South Africa, South Correa e Viet Nam.
In order to be included in the agreement, the pharmas involved had to prove to be measured up for the quality requirements internationally requested and evaluated by Medicines Patent Pool only, which decided exclusively and independently.
MSD, Ridgeback Biotherapeutics and Emory University, the athenaeum where molnupiravir was born, will not receive royalties from the sales of the drug.
The Executive Director of MPP, Charles Gore, declared: “This is a crucial step to guarantee a global access to an urgent treatment against COVID-19 and we are confident that theese treatments will be quickly available in low-income countries. The producing companies are working in close contact with regulator authorities”. I
Even Paul Schaper, Executive Director, Global Public Policy, MSD, made a statement: “we are glad to see this dream coming true, with such a geographical diversity of the elected companies involved in the process”.
