[ad_1]
Global co-director Dr. “It’s no coincidence that Merck has experience with HIV – they know internally, with their leadership and culture, that they’re going to be hit if they don’t address their access challenges,” Moon said. Health Center at the Institute for International and Development Studies in Geneva.
Generic manufacturing by itself is not a guarantee of global reach. Half of all coronavirus infections reported in low- and middle-income countries in the first six months of 2021 occurred in 32 countries outside the Merck license. Brazil, Malaysia, Mexico and Peru are not included. Neither is China or Russia.
General production licenses for restricted areas can leave middle-income countries with weak public health systems paying nearly as high prices as rich countries. Merck said it will use World Bank revenue data from these countries to calculate what it charges for drugs in each.
Merck is also in talks with the Medicines Patent Pool, a United Nations-sponsored nonprofit that works to make medical treatments and technologies accessible. Charles Gore, the organization’s director, said he hopes Merck will agree to a licensing agreement that could allow companies from the wider region to make the drug while selling its product in wealthy countries. He said such an agreement would set an important precedent for other companies.
If Merck, Pfizer, or other drug manufacturers do not ensure widespread availability of Covid treatments, they may face the widespread use of mandatory licensing, where governments often override intellectual property restrictions to allow drug production in an emergency. While Merck will earn a royalty on drugs sold by generic manufacturers and possibly any deals reached through the patent pool, under mandatory licensing the company has no say in the price or royalty amount of the drug.
Geneva-based global healthcare organization Unitaid said $3.5 billion of new funding is needed from wealthy countries to make treatments accessible, much of it for antivirals in low-income countries.
“We need a global effort. “We need donors to accelerate funding to ensure treatments reach everyone,” said Janet Ginnard, director of strategy.
[ad_2]
Source link