Philippines' Covid-19 patients may get Merck's anti-viral pill early

MANILA • Covid-19 patients in the Philippines may get early access to Merck & Co's yet to be approved anti-viral treatment pill for just a few dollars starting next month.

Philippine-owned importer MedEthix and distributor JackPharma said in a joint statement yesterday that they will bring molnupiravir to hospitals in the Philippines as early as next month.

They plan to distribute pills manufactured by India's Aurobindo Pharma through a licensee agreement with Merck.

The drug may be used initially by 300,000 patients under a compassionate use system, MedEthix chief executive officer Monaliza Salian said.

Each capsule will likely cost 100 pesos (S$2.70) to 130 pesos, JackPharma president Meny Hernandez Jr added.

Despite the pill still awaiting approval from regulators globally, some nations have already secured orders or are in talks to obtain it.

An interim analysis of clinical trial data spurred demand after it found molnupiravir cut the risk of hospitalisation for adults with mild-to-moderate Covid-19 who are at risk of developing a severe illness.

The drug's progress has been accompanied by concerns that poorer nations already struggling to obtain Covid-19 vaccines could be left behind once again.

Merck has licensed the medication to generic-drug firms and itself expects to produce 10 million courses by the end of the year, and substantially more next year.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation plans to contribute as much as US$120 million (S$162 million) to widen global access to the pill.

In the Philippines, patients wanting early access will need a doctor's prescription to buy the drug from a hospital with a compassionate permit.

Molnupiravir works by introducing errors into viral genetic material that eventually make the pathogen defunct.

Some experts have questioned if the drug may also impact growing cells in the human body, potentially raising the risk of birth defects, for example.

Merck and partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutics have sought US emergency use authorisation, and the treatment is set for the US Food and Drug Administration committee's review next month.

BLOOMBERG