‘Molnupiravir’ in market to treat COVID, each capsule costs Tk 70

GBNEWS24DESK//

Four pharmaceutical companies have been given permission to manufacture and marketing Covid-19 drug ‘Molnupiravir’ capsule, an oral drug for five-day dose.

The companies are Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Eskayef Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Square Pharmaceuticals Ltd and Renata Limited.

It was stated by the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) Major General Mahbubur Rahman at a press conference held in Dhaka on Tuesday.

Apart from these, he said five other pharmaceutical companies are on the approval list.

The companies are: General, Beacon, Incepta, Acme, Healthcare, and Popular Pharmaceuticals.

Four ‘Molnupiravir’ capsules, each having the strength of 200mg, need to be taken in the morning and four capsules at night. A total of 40 capsules need to be taken in five days, the DGDA Director said.

The price of each 200mg Molnupiravir capsule has been fixed at Tk 50. However, Beximco said that the price of each capsule would cost Tk 70.

So, a Covid-19 infected patient will require to spend Tk 2,800 to complete a five-day full course.

Molnupiravir is not necessarily a substitute for vaccines, he said, adding that people must receive the vaccines. But they can receive this antiviral capsule on advice of physicians.

Molnupiravir capsule is currently under review by several other regulatory authorities, including the European Medicines Agency and the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

As an oral treatment, it can be administered at home. Molnupiravir has the potential to have a significant impact on the treatment paradigm for Covid-19.

For instance, it may reduce the need for infected patients to visit medical facilities, therefore, also reducing the risk of infecting others.

Data published by US drugmaker Merck Sharp and Dhome (MSD) suggest that the drug may cut the risk of hospitalisation and death by half, with 7.3% of molnupiravir patients being taken to the hospital after 29 days compared to 14.1% of patients who were treated with placebo.

Molnupiravir works by interfering with the replication of the virus.

This prevents it from multiplying, keeping virus levels low in the body and therefore reducing the severity of the disease.