COVID-19 oral drug only costs US$17.74 but charge government US$712?

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COVID-19 oral drug only costs US$17.74 but charge government US$712?

COVID-19 oral drug with costs only costs US$17.74 but charge the government US$712?

According to “Russia Today” (RT) reports, Merck’s five-day COVID-19 oral medication production cost is US$17.74, but the pharmaceutical company will charge the US government the fee of US$712.

In this context, Lina Mengani, an official of the international medical rescue organization “Doctors Without Borders”, told RT that the world needs cheap generic drugs.

COVID-19 oral drug only costs US$17.74 but charge government US$712?

According to the report, the U.S. government provided Merck with approximately $29 million for the research and development of monabiravir. The company said that in clinical trials of patients with COVID-19, the drug “reduces the risk of hospitalization or death by approximately 50%.”

However, despite this generous funding, Merck will still charge the US government about US$712 for every 5-day course of treatment, at a cost of only US$17.74. According to reports, this means that US taxpayers will pay for the 40-fold increase.

Mengani, an official of Doctors Without Borders, told RT: “Pharmaceutical companies need to avoid making huge profits in the epidemic.” Mengani said, “If you look at the price of generic drugs, the price of a course of treatment ranges from US$15 to US$20. , The price of US$700 (a course of treatment) is really outrageous.”

According to reports, this drug has been produced and tested in India. Menjani said that in India, the cost of a course of this drug is between US$15 and US$20. However, this solution for producing generic drugs is still awaiting approval, and these cheaper drugs are not available in countries that strictly enforce intellectual property laws.

Other news about monupivir:

A course of treatment is 700 dollars! US drug company Merck’s COVID-19 “special drug” monupivir attracts attention

Molnupiravir, an oral COVID-19 drug developed by the American pharmaceutical company Merck & Co., Ltd., has recently attracted rush purchases in many countries.

According to US media reports, after Merck announced that monupivir can significantly reduce the risk of severe hospitalization or death of patients with COVID-19 pneumonia, Singapore, South Korea, Australia and other countries have placed orders.

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) analyzed that if approved by regulatory agencies, monupivir will become the first oral antiviral drug for the treatment of COVID-19s, and a safe, affordable and effective oral drug will be against the COVID-19 virus Great progress.

On the 1st of this month, Merck announced that monupivir, developed in cooperation with its partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, has obtained positive interim analysis results in a phase three study of patients with mild or moderate COVID-19 pneumonia.

Patients are taking On the 29th day of monupivir, the rate of severe hospitalization or death was only 7.3%, which was much lower than 14.1% in the placebo group. The drug can reduce the risk of hospitalization or death by about 50%.

The clinical trial results of monupivir were affirmed by medical experts such as Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and Amish Adalgarze, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins University Health Safety Center In an interview with Reuters, “an oral antiviral drug that can affect the risk of hospitalization to this extent will change the rules of the game.”

(source:internet, reference only)

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