Beximco Pharmaceuticals says it has begun the production of a generic version of US drugmaker Merck & Co Inc’s experimental pill to treat Covid-19.
It officially started manufacturing the oral antiviral drug molnupiravir on Tuesday, a day after obtaining authorization from the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA).
Beximco Pharmaceuticals will market the pill as Emorivir, according to a statement by the drugmaker.
The first launch of a generic version of molnupiravir is a great achievement for the company, it quoted Managing Director Nazmul Hasan.
On Monday, Beximco secured the DGDA’s clearance to produce the pills in Bangladesh.
The sooner the drug is brought in Bangladesh, the better it will be for everyone, an online media outlet quoted DGDA Director Md Ayub Hossain as saying.
The approved pharmaceutical companies will first submit generic versions of the pill to the drug regulator for review. If everything is satisfactory, the DGDA will then give permission for mass production and marketing of the drug.
More Bangladeshi pharmacos are waiting for approval after Merck inked a deal allowing its pill to be manufactured and sold cheaply in low-income countries.
Square, Eskayef, Incepta, General Pharma, Beacon Pharma, Renata and three other drugmakers have also sought the DGDA’s permission.
The antiviral pill could halve the chances of dying or being hospitalized for those most at risk of contracting severe Covid-19, with experts hailing it as a potential breakthrough in how the virus is treated.
"An oral antiviral that can impact hospitalization risk to such a degree would be game changing," said Amesh Adalja, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.
