Bangladesh’s Beximco the first in the world to start selling Merck’s anti Covid-19 generic pill.
Beximco demonstrates Bangladesh pharmaceutical strength by being the first company in the world to produce and sell Merck’s “Molnupiravir” under the name “Emorivir”.
NEWSBANGLADESH NEWS
Bangladesh's Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd will start selling a generic version of Merck & Co's antiviral pill known as Molnupiravir marketed as Emorivir in the country.
Managing Director of Beximco Pharmaceuticals Nazmul Hassan Papon said, “Further to our launch of the first generic Remdesivir at the start of the pandemic, the launch of a generic version of Molnupiravir, the world's first oral antiviral drug to treat Covid-19, is another example of Beximco Pharma's ability to rapidly respond to make affordable treatments available to patients suffering from Covid-19.”
The price per capsule has been fixed at Tk 70 (USD 0.80), and 40 capsules are needed for a treatment, totaling USD 32 per treatment.
Considering that the US government negotiated a supply of 1.7 million treatment for a price of USD 712 (for 40 capsules), USD 32 is more than acceptable.
The other therapies available against Covid-19 (not vaccines) like Gilead Science’s antiviral Remdesivir and Regeneron’s monoclonal antibody cocktail must be administrated intravenously or by injection; making it difficult for people to access the therapies before they are sick enough to land in hospital.
A Covid-19 pill which simply requires a prescription and a trip to the pharmacy once symptoms appear, would make early treatment much easier and effective.
After Merck, Pfizer announced on November 16th that it allows generic versions of its Covid-19 pill in 95 countries, including Bangladesh. It is yet to be agreed which pharmaceutical company will produce it.
Pfizer’s Paxlovid is an antiviral called “protease inhibitor” which blocks the action of an enzyme critical to viral replication. A treatment consists of one pill every 12 hours for five days.
US government negotiated a price of USD 530 per treatment (10 million treatments for USD 5.3 billion). It is expected that the price in Bangladesh will be a fraction of that.
https://www.risingbd.com/english/business/news/83483
https://www.businessinsider.com/how-merck-is-pricing-its-covid-19-pill-molnupiravir-globally-2021-10