Anti-viral drug Molnupiravir, which has got the green flag from the Drug Controller General of India for emergency use approval to treat Covid-19, is expected to cost between ₹2,000 and ₹3,000 for full treatment.
Earlier, Merck had said it “plans to implement a tiered pricing approach based on World Bank country income criteria to reflect countries’ relative ability to finance their health response to the pandemic”. It also said that to ensure all parts of the world have access to the medicine, it has entered into licensing agreements for with generic drug manufacturers.
Thirteen Indian pharmaceutical companies, including Torrent, Cipla, Sun Pharma, Dr. Reddy’s, Natco, Mylan, Hetero, Optimus will be manufacturing Molnupiravir, which is being developed by US-based biotechnology company Ridgeback Biotherapeutics in collaboration with US Pharma giant Merck.
The recommended dose of molnupiravir is 800 mg twice a day for five days. With companies planning to launch 200 mg capsules, a patient will need to take 40 pills during the course of the treatment.
Molnupiravir is not authorised for use in patients less than 18 years of age. Its treatment should not be initiated in those patients who require immediate hospitalisation due to Covid-19. However, if it was initiated before hospitalisation due to Covid-19, it may be continued. Also, it is not allowed to be used for more than five consecutive days.
News18 had earlier reported that the drug will be tested on additional 13,000 patients to assess its safety, and companies will have to submit a report on the updated details of the clinical trial to the government.
The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) – the apex authority clearing new drugs and vaccines for use in the country – has asked the pharma companies to follow 13 conditions.
Molnupiravir works by introducing errors in the mechanism, involving RNA replication, by which the virus makes copies of itself once it has infected an individual. By tricking the virus into incorporating its material into copies of its RNA, the drug causes mutations to accumulate, eventually render it unable to reproduce. By keeping virus levels low in the body, the pill is thus able to reduce the severity of the disease, the UK drugs regulator said.
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