Merck to Release COVID Pill Patent in Poor Countries

U.S. drug lab Merck announced on Wednesday an agreement that could allow generic versions of its anti-covid-19 treatment to be rolled out to people infected with the disease in poor countries.
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The Medicines Patent Pool (MPP, which negotiates treatment licenses with patent holders) said it has signed a voluntary licensing agreement with Merck to facilitate global access to an affordable price of molnupiravir, the experimental oral antiviral drug against covid-19 developed by the US giant.

Subject to regulatory approval, the agreement will contribute to broad access to molnupiravir in 105 low- and middle-income countries.
Drug regulators in the United States and the European Union are already evaluating the treatment.
Antivirals such as molnupiravir work by reducing a virus’s ability to multiply, thereby slowing down the disease.

Molnupiravir treatment, given to patients within days of testing positive, halves the risk of hospitalization and death, according to a clinical trial conducted by Merck, also known as MSD outside the United States.
Read more: Moderna announces its COVID vaccine has ‘strong’ efficacy in children aged 6 to 11
Under the pact, Merck agrees to a license to MPP, which can then sublicense generic drug manufacturers.
The agreement means that the laboratories that have developed the drug will not receive rights for their sales as long as covid-19 is considered an international public health emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO).
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Original source in Spanish