Belgium to buy 10,000 courses each of Pfizer and Merck COVID-19 pills

Belgium will buy 10,000 courses each of the COVID-19 pills developed by Pfizer and Merck, a spokesman for the health ministry said in an emailed statement.

Belgium’s health minister said in early December that the government was in talks with Merck for the purchase of molnupiravir, and Belgian health authorities had advised that both molnupiravir and Paxlovid, the drug developed by Pfizer, should be purchased.

“Both talks are finalised and we will buy 10,000 of both,” Arne Brinckman, a spokesman for the Belgian health ministry told Reuters on Monday.

About Molnupiravir- the Merck COVID-19 pill

Molnupiravir (MK-4482/EIDD-2801) is an investigational, orally administered form of a potent ribonucleoside analog that inhibits the replication of SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19. Molnupiravir has been shown to be active in several preclinical models of SARS-CoV-2, including for prophylaxis, treatment, and prevention of transmission. Additionally, pre-clinical and clinical data have shown molnupiravir to be active against the most common SARS-CoV-2 variants. Molnupiravir was invented at Drug Innovations at Emory (DRIVE), LLC, a not-for-profit biotechnology company wholly owned by Emory University, and is being developed by Merck & Co., Inc. in collaboration with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics. Ridgeback received an upfront payment from Merck and also is eligible to receive contingent payments dependent upon the achievement of certain developmental and regulatory approval milestones. Any profits from the collaboration will be split between the partners equally. Since licensed by Ridgeback, all funds used for the development of molnupiravir have been provided by Merck and by Wayne and Wendy Holman of Ridgeback.

The drug is also being evaluated for post-exposure prophylaxis in MOVe-AHEAD, a global, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 3 study, which is evaluating the efficacy and safety of molnupiravir in preventing the spread of COVID-19 within households.