Distribution of Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics’ oral antiviral COVID-19 medicine molnupiravir reached a new milestone this week, with approximately 3.1 million courses provided to the United States government.
The companies are increasing access to the drug internationally, and according to their latest figures, they are on track to produce at least 20 million doses of molnupiravir this year. Their supply for the United States was based on a 2021 procurement agreement between Merck and the federal government, under which the company was to supply 3.1 million courses following Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) or approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
“In line with our commitment to accelerating access to molnupiravir in the U.S., we have now supplied more than 3 million courses to the U.S. government within approximately seven weeks of receiving Emergency Use Authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration,” Merck CEO and President Robert Davis said. “I am grateful to our colleagues who have worked tirelessly over the past year to accomplish this goal and to the health care providers who remain on the front lines of caring for patients with COVID-19.”
Beyond the U.S. agreement, Merck has secured advance purchase and supply agreements for more than 30 countries, including Australia, Canada, Korea, Japan, and the United Kingdom. All of these are pending regulatory authorizations, but even so, Merck has shipped molnupiravir to more than 25 countries. Together with Ridgeback, it also allocated up to 3 million courses of molnupiravir for distribution through UNICEF and the global ACT Accelerator Therapeutics Partnership to guarantee more equitable distribution.
In the United States, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has set up a public website for providers to use in identifying shipment locations for government-procured COVID-19 therapeutics – like molnupiravir – allowed under EUA. The drug is authorized for use on adults only.