- The company producing an experimental antiviral pill intended for the treatment of Covid-19 is accused of selling the drug at 40 times the cost of its production.
- Merck has entered into a contract with the US government to supply 1.7 million courses at a price of $700 per course, but it only takes about $17.74 to produce a five-day course.
- Merck wants to “shape the narrative about who paid for the development of this drug in order to avoid demands from the public to make it available at reasonable prices,” a senior researcher said.
Namita Singh from The Independent writes:
“The company producing an experimental antiviral pill for Covid-19 treatment is accused of selling the drug to the US at 40 times the cost of its production, found a report.
Molnupiravir, manufactured by pharmaceutical company Merck, has entered into a contract with the US government to supply 1.7 million courses at a price of $700 per course. However, an analysis of drug pricing by Harvard School of Public Health and King’s College Hospital in London found that it takes about $17.74 to produce a five-day course.
The pill, hailed as a breakthrough in the treatment of coronavirus, was originally developed to treat influenza using government funds. The antiviral drug could halve the chances of dying or being hospitalised for those most at risk of contracting severe Covid-19.
The medicine is designed to introduce error in the genetic code of the virus itself and is the first oral antiviral medication for Covid-19…”
See full story here.
Categories: Business, Government, Healthcare, International, WTF?
Economic Left 
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