Amid Humanitarian Crisis in India, Merck Announces Voluntary Licensing Agreements with Five Indian Generics Manufacturers to ...
27 Abril 2021 - 7:45AM
Business Wire
Merck will also donate more than $5 million
in supplies and equipment to aid relief efforts in India
Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and
Canada, announced today that the company has entered into
non-exclusive voluntary licensing agreements for molnupiravir with
five established Indian generics manufacturers. Molnupiravir is an
investigational oral antiviral agent currently being studied in a
Phase 3 trial for the treatment of non-hospitalized patients with
confirmed COVID-19. Merck is developing molnupiravir in
collaboration with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics. Merck has entered
into these agreements to accelerate availability of molnupiravir in
India and in other low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)
following approvals or emergency authorization by local regulatory
agencies.
“The scale of human suffering in India at this moment is
devastating, and it is clear that more must be done to help
alleviate it. These agreements, toward which we have been working
as we have been studying molnupiravir, will help to accelerate
access to molnupiravir in India and around the world,” said Kenneth
C. Frazier, chairman and CEO, Merck. “We remain committed to aiding
in the global response that will bring relief to the people of
India and, ultimately, bring an end to the pandemic.”
The agreements have been signed with Cipla Limited, Dr. Reddy’s
Laboratories Limited, Emcure Pharmaceuticals Limited, Hetero Labs
Limited and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Limited – five generics
manufacturers with World Health Organization (WHO) Pre-Qualified
Manufacturing facilities and experience as major suppliers to
global and key LMIC procurers. Under the agreements, Merck will
provide licenses to these manufacturers to supply molnupiravir to
India and more than 100 LMICs. Merck is also in discussions with
the Medicines Patent Pool to explore the potential for additional
licenses.
Separately, Merck will also donate more than $5 million worth of
oxygen-production equipment, masks, hand sanitizer and financial
aid to support relief efforts in India.
About Molnupiravir
Molnupiravir (EIDD-2801/MK-4482) is an investigational, orally
bioavailable form of a potent ribonucleoside analog that inhibits
the replication of multiple RNA viruses including SARS-CoV-2, the
causative agent of COVID-19. Molnupiravir has been shown to be
active in several models of SARS-CoV-2, including for prophylaxis,
treatment and prevention of transmission, as well as SARS-CoV-1 and
MERS. EIDD-2801 was invented at Drug Innovations at Emory (DRIVE),
LLC, a not-for-profit biotechnology company wholly owned by Emory
University. Since licensed by Ridgeback, all funds used for the
development of EIDD-2801 by Ridgeback have been provided by Wayne
and Wendy Holman and Merck.
About Merck
For 130 years, Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States
and Canada, has been inventing for life, bringing forward medicines
and vaccines for many of the world’s most challenging diseases in
pursuit of our mission to save and improve lives. We demonstrate
our commitment to patients and population health by increasing
access to health care through far-reaching policies, programs and
partnerships. Today, Merck continues to be at the forefront of
research to prevent and treat diseases that threaten people and
animals – including cancer, infectious diseases such as HIV and
Ebola, and emerging animal diseases – as we aspire to be the
premier research-intensive biopharmaceutical company in the world.
For more information, visit www.merck.com and connect with us on
Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.
Forward-Looking Statement of Merck & Co., Inc.,
Kenilworth, N.J., USA
This news release of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J.,
USA (the “company”) includes “forward-looking statements” within
the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are
based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the company’s
management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties.
If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or risks or
uncertainties materialize, actual results may differ materially
from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.
Risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to, general
industry conditions and competition; general economic factors,
including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations;
the impact of the global outbreak of novel coronavirus disease
(COVID-19); the impact of pharmaceutical industry regulation and
health care legislation in the United States and internationally;
global trends toward health care cost containment; technological
advances, new products and patents attained by competitors;
challenges inherent in new product development, including obtaining
regulatory approval; the company’s ability to accurately predict
future market conditions; manufacturing difficulties or delays;
financial instability of international economies and sovereign
risk; dependence on the effectiveness of the company’s patents and
other protections for innovative products; and the exposure to
litigation, including patent litigation, and/or regulatory
actions.
The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any
forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise. Additional factors that could cause
results to differ materially from those described in the
forward-looking statements can be found in the company’s 2020
Annual Report on Form 10-K and the company’s other filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) available at the SEC’s
Internet site (www.sec.gov).
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