Thailand might order 200,000 courses of anti-COVID drugs from Merck

Thailand’s government is reportedly in talks with U.S. Pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. to order 200,000 courses of the company’s experimental anti-viral COVID pills.

Confirming the news, the Director-general of the Department of Medical Services of Thailand, Somsak Akksilp stated that the country is presently working on a buying agreement for the medicine. He further said that a consignment of 200,000 courses has been pre-booked and is likely to arrive by December.

Notably, the drug will be made available for public use only after it receives due approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as well as the Thai regulator, added Akksilp.

Several Asian countries are trying to get their hands on this potential treatment after falling behind other Western nations in vaccine procurement, due to the acute pinch in supply volumes.

Sources claim that Malaysia, Taiwan, and South Korea are in the queue to buy the new drug from Merck. Meanwhile, the Philippines has already begun a trial on these pills and hopes for it to show efficient results.

Maria Rosario Vergeire, Health Undersecretary of the Philippines was quoted saying that the nation is eligible to have higher access to this treatment as they have the scientific trial counterpart.

The anti-COVID drug, known as molnupiravir is the first-ever oral medication for the treatment of coronavirus disease. Interim trials suggest that it could reduce the chance of death or hospitalization in high-risk patients by 50%. According to sources, the pill works by introducing errors to the genetic code of the virus.

Merck is anticipating a production volume of at least 10 million courses of this antiviral drug by the end of the year. The company recently announced an agreement to supply 1.7 million courses at a price of USD 700 each to the U.S government.

The pharma giant has also stated that the cost of the medicine will be based on the level of income in each of the nations.

Source credits-

https://kfgo.com/2021/10/04/thailand-in-talks-with-merck-for-200000-courses-of-anti-covid-pills/