Belgium agrees to buy 10,000 doses of Pfizer and Merck anti-Covid-19 treatments

Belgium has agreed to buy 10,000 doses of each of the two Covid-19 antiviral therapies developed by Pfizer and Merck & Co and taken orally, a health ministry spokesman told Reuters today.

Governments around the world are looking to buy Paxlovid, the pill developed by Pfizer.

Molnupiravir, co-developed by Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, is experiencing problems following disappointing test results, and France announced in December that it had canceled its order for the drug.

The Belgian Health Minister said in early December that the government was in talks with Merck to buy molnupiravir, while Belgian health authorities had recommended that both molnupiravir and Paxlovid be purchased.

“Both talks have been completed and we will buy 10,000 from each,” a Belgian health ministry spokesman told Reuters today when asked about possible dose purchases for both treatments.

The dosage of Pfizer is three pills in the morning and three pills in the evening. The dosage of Merck drug is four pills in the morning and four in the evening.

The EU drug regulator has not approved either, but has issued recommendations for using both as emergency treatments.

The spokesman did not respond to a request for comment on how much Belgium had agreed to pay, nor did it say when the country was expected to receive the first installments.

In late December, France announced that it had canceled an order for 50,000 doses of molnupiravir after the company announced in late December data showing that its drug was significantly less effective than expected, as it reduced hospitalizations and deaths in clinical trials. in high-risk individuals by about 30%.

Pfizer reports that Paxlovid has been shown to be almost 90% effective in preventing hospitalization and death in high-risk patients, and laboratory data show that the drug retains its effectiveness against the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

Source: AMPE