The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week authorised Merck's antiviral COVID-19 pill for high-risk adult patients, a day after giving a broader go-ahead to a similar but more effective treatment from Pfizer, Reuters reports,
In the last week, Japan and India have also recommended approval of Merck's experimental pill, which has already been approved in Britain, Denmark and the Philippines, among others, while South Korea on Monday authorised Pfizer's treatment for emergency use.
Merck has signed deals to sell about nine million courses of its treatment to governments around the world, but on Dec 22 France became the first country to publicly say it had cancelled its order following disappointing trial data. It hopes instead to receive Pfizer's drug before the end of January.
In the European Union, both treatments are under review by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), though the regulator has said they can be used in adults ahead of any wider recommendation.
Merck pill
COUNTRY
VOLUME
PRICE
TIMING OF SOURCE DELIVERY
Australia
300,000 doses
Belgium
10,000 doses
Canada
500,000 courses
Indonesia
600,000 - 1 million doses
December
2021Italy
50,000 courses
Japan
1.6 million courses
1.2 billion
Malaysia
150,000 courses
Philippines
300,000 courses
100-150 pesos ($1.97-$2.96) per pill
November
2021
South Korea
200,000 courses
Switzerland
8,640 doses
Jan 2022
"at the latest"
Thailand
200,000 courses
UK
2,230,000 courses
Early 2022
United States
3,100,000 courses
$700 per course, total of $2.2 billion
EU
Germany
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